Plate Tectonics Puzzle 2025

9. convection currents here cause plate tectonics
10. theory that Earth's continents move or drift relative to each other over geologic time
14. A trace of an ancient organism that has been preserved in rock.
15. formed at converging continental plates
17. Magma that reaches Earth's surface
19. type of crust that is thinner and more dense
21. formed from diverging continental plates
22. a chain of islands formed over a hotspot
23. Sections of the Earth's crust that move due to convection currents in the mantle
24. extremely deep areas in the ocean that are created by a subducting plate
25. a volcanically active area of Earth's surface far from a tectonic plate boundary
26. The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface.
29. this island in the chain will be furthest from the hotspot that formed it
30. a branch of geology concerned with the structure of the crust of a planet and the formation of folds and faults in it
32. an ancient landmass which separated into present-day continents
33. faults and volcanoes are most often found here
36. areas that are below sea level
38. A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other.
39. Massive volcano that can produce unbelievably enormous, but rare, eruptions.
40. this island in the chain will be closest to the hotspot that formed it

1. a supervolcano formed over a hotspot in the western United States
2. a supercontinent that existed 300–200 million years ago, made up of all the continents on Earth
3. A plate boundary where two plates move toward each other.
4. a principle that states that younger rocks lie above older rocks if the layers have not been disturbed
5. undersea mountain range formed at diverging oceanic plates
6. vibrations that travel through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake
7. The boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding past each other horizontally
8. a geologic process that creates new ocean floor at mid-ocean ridges
11. A break in the earth's crust
12. formed where oceanic and continental crust converge
13. A weak spot in the crust where magma has come to the surface
16. a current caused by the rising of heated fluid and sinking of cooled fluid
18. A scale that rates an earthquake's magnitude based on the size of its seismic waves.
20. well-tested explanation that unifies a broad range of observations
27. Molten rock beneath the earth's surface
28. describes the location of hotspots in the mantle
31. type of crust that is thicker and less dense
34. One plate going under another plate
35. how often supervolcanoes erupt
37. scientist that proposed Earth's continents were once joined together in a single land mass