Geology and Plate Tectonics Quiz

The supercontinent that existed millions of years ago, before breaking apart into the continents we know today.

The vast ocean that surrounded Pangaea, before it split into the modern oceans.

A geological process where heated material in Earth's mantle rises, cools, and sinks back down, creating currents.

The location where one tectonic plate slides beneath another, leading to volcanic activity and earthquake zones.

A theory explaining how new oceanic crust is created at spreading centers, pushing older crust away.

A Dutch map maker who first proposed the idea that continents could be joined together.

A German meteorologist who proposed the Continental Drift Theory, suggesting that continents were once a single landmass.

One of the two large landmasses that Pangaea split into, forming the northern continents.

The edges of continents, especially South America and Africa, fit together like puzzle pieces, suggesting they were once connected.

Rocks from different continents, separated by oceans, are surprisingly similar in age and composition.

Rocks of the same age and type are found on continents now separated by vast oceans, pointing to a shared past.

This map, created by Bullard in 1964, showed a more precise matching of continents' coastlines, strengthening the theory of continental drift.

Marine fossils and sediment deposits, found on different continents, indicate a shared past geological environment.

A type of sedimentary rock formed from glacial deposits, indicating past ice ages.

Deposits of valuable minerals, like gold, concentrated by natural processes.

The presence of identical plant and animal species on different continents suggests they were once connected.

A hypothetical landmass that existed millions of years ago, linking India, Madagascar, and Africa, as suggested by the presence of Lemurs.

A force proposed by Alfred Wegener to explain continental drift, suggesting that the Earth's rotation caused continents to move away from the poles.

A theory proposed by Arthur Holmes in 1930 that explains the movement of tectonic plates through the process of convection currents in the Earth's mantle.

The force exerted by the weight of the lithosphere sliding down the slope of a mid-ocean ridge, pushing the plates apart.

The force pulling plates towards subduction zones, where one plate slides beneath another.

A hypothetical lost land mass proposed in the 19th century, often linked to the Indian or Pacific Ocean.

Forces that originate from the Earth's rotation and shape, potentially influencing the movement of tectonic plates.

A vast expanse of flat, sediment-covered ocean floor found between continental margins and mid-oceanic ridges.

The most active zone for volcanic eruptions on Earth, located in the middle of the ocean.

The gradual sloping transition from the continental shelf to the deep ocean floor.

The process where rock's magnetic properties change due to Earth's magnetic field reversals. This provides evidence for seafloor spreading by showing younger rocks with normal magnetic polarity closer to the ridge and older rocks with reversed polarity further away.

The age of oceanic crust increases further away from the mid-oceanic ridge, demonstrating that new crust is formed at the ridge and pushed outwards.

A massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock that forms the Earth's outer layer.

The layer of the Earth's mantle below the tectonic plates, which is hot, semi-solid, and allows the plates to move.

The process where tectonic plates move horizontally over the Asthenosphere.

The boundary between two tectonic plates.

The process by which new oceanic crust is formed at mid-ocean ridges, where magma pushes up from the mantle.

The largest and most stable tectonic plates of the Earth's crust.

Smaller and less stable tectonic plates that move around the major plates.

A supercontinent proposed to have existed millions of years ago. It is believed that the plates that formed Pangaea drifted apart over time to form the continents we know today.

This theory suggests that the continents were once joined together in a single landmass called Pangaea, and over millions of years, they have drifted apart due to the movement of Earth's tectonic plates.

A region where two tectonic plates converge and one slides beneath the other.

Where two tectonic plates move apart from each other, new crust is created, and often results in volcanic activity and mid-ocean ridges.

A zone where two tectonic plates collide, resulting in one plate sliding beneath the other. This process, called subduction, leads to the formation of volcanoes, mountain ranges, and deep oceanic trenches.

The place where one tectonic plate slides horizontally past another. This movement creates earthquakes and fault lines along the boundary.

The process by which one tectonic plate slides beneath another at a convergent boundary, often leading to the formation of volcanoes and mountain ranges.

A region where the Earth's crust is created as two tectonic plates move apart, typically resulting in volcanic activity and mid-ocean ridges.