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| The theory that the rigid outer portion of the earth is broken into large separate sections. |
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| A theory that the continents were attached together in the past, and have been drifting apart ever since. |
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| The pulling apart of plate boundaries under the ocean floor. |
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| The solid rocky layer of Earth formed by the crust and the upper part of the mantle |
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| The information recorded by a seismograph. |
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| An instrument that measures and records the intensity of an earthquake. |
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| Measures the shaking on a scale from 1.0 to 9.0 |
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| The release of energy in the form of waves that occurs when large masses of rock below earth's surface suddenly shift position. |
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| A single landmass, or supercontinent, that existed from about 350 million to 200 million years ago and was separated by plate tectonics, forming the current continents. |
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| A boundary between tectonic plates that are sliding next to each other |
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| A boundary between tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Also called a spreading center. |
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A boundary between tectonic plates that are moving toward each other. |
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| An area where one tectonic plate is being forced downward toward the earth's interior. This process causes the solid portions of the subducted plate to melt. |
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