Global Plate System 全球板块系统
The Earth's lithosphere is broken into several large and small tectonic plates. These plates float on the semi-liquid asthenosphere and interact at their boundaries, causing geological events.
Pacific, North American, Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Antarctic, and South American plates.
The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.
Convergent Boundary 聚合边界
In a continental-continental convergence, plates of similar density smash together. Neither can subduct, so the crust thickens and mountains are pushed skyward.
The layer of granitic, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks which forms the continents.
The area where two continental plates meet.
Mountains formed by the folding of layers within the upper part of the Earth's crust.
Rock layers that have been deformed by pressure.
Divergent Boundary 发散边界
Divergent boundaries occur where tectonic plates move away from each other. This process creates new lithosphere and causes the ocean floor to widen through volcanic activity and rifting.
A lowland region that forms where Earth's tectonic plates move apart.
The continuous mountain range on the ocean floor where new crust is born.
The movement of molten rock toward the surface.
Freshly formed basaltic rock near the ridge axis.
Cooler, denser crust that has moved far from the ridge.
The soft, plastic layer of the mantle upon which plates float.
Deep-sea Trench 深海海沟
Deep-sea trenches are long, narrow depressions on the seafloor. They are the deepest parts of the ocean, formed at convergent boundaries where one tectonic plate subducts beneath another into the Earth's mantle.
The region where an oceanic plate sinks down into the asthenosphere.
The dense portion of the Earth's crust that makes up the seafloor.
A chain of volcanoes formed above a subducting plate.
A mass of sedimentary material scraped off a subducting oceanic plate.
The layer of the Earth between the crust and the core.
Transform Boundary 转换边界
Transform boundaries occur where plates slide past each other. The friction causes them to lock, and the eventual release of stress creates major earthquakes.
A fault in which the two blocks slide past each other horizontally.
Forces that oppose motion and build up potential energy.
The point where the earthquake starts and its projection on the surface.
Energy waves that vibrate through the Earth.
Subduction Zone 俯冲带
Subduction occurs when an oceanic plate runs into a continental plate and slides beneath it. This destroys old crust and powers mountain building and volcanic arcs.
A deep, steep-sided canyon in the ocean floor.
The denser plate that is forced down into the mantle.
The lighter plate that remains on top during subduction.
A chain of volcanoes formed as the subducting plate melts.
The process where only a portion of a solid is melted.
The mechanical layers involved in plate movement.
Lithosphere & Earth Layers 岩石圈与地球圈层
The Earth is composed of several distinct layers based on their chemical and rheological properties. The Lithosphere, including the crust and the uppermost solid mantle, broken into tectonic plates that move atop the semi-fluid asthenosphere.
The rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle.
The highly viscous, mechanically weak region of the upper mantle.
A layer of silicate rock between the crust and the outer core (up to 2900 km).
A fluid layer composed of mostly iron and nickel (2900–5100 km).
The solid, innermost hot radiative center of the Earth (up to 6378 km).