 Earth’s surface is made of rigid slabs of rock that move

 Divergent Plate Boundary - where two plates separate ex. mid-ocean ridges  Transform Plate Boundary – where two plates slide past each other; results in earthquakes ex. San Andreas Fault in California

 Convergent Plate Boundaries –where two plates collide Oceanic/Continental Plate Subduction – when one plate (oceanic) sinks below another (continental); can result in volcanoes and ocean trenches Continental/Continental Plate results in mountain building

 Tectonic plates on the lithosphere move due to convection in the asthenosphere Convection Currents – circulation of material (liquid rock) caused by differences in temperature and density

 Basal Drag convection currents drag plates like a conveyor belt  Ridge Push rising mantle material at mid-ocean ridges causes plates to move away from the ridge  Slab Pull when an older plate goes through subduction it pulls down on the rest of the plate