Generalized Cross Section Model of Earth's Surface and Interior · Earth and Space Sciences Reference Tables (ESSRT)
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The Generalized Cross Section Model of Earth's Surface and Interior from the Reference Tables for Earth and Space Sciences (ESSRT) is a block diagram that connects features at Earth's surface, such as ridges, trenches and volcanoes, with the plates and layers beneath them. It primarily supports HS-ESS2-1.
What the cross section model shows
The block diagram shows three tectonic plates. At an ocean ridge, magma rises between Tectonic Plate 1 and Tectonic Plate 2; at a trench, Plate 2 sinks beneath Plate 3, where magma feeds volcanoes on the continent; and in the middle of Plate 2 a hotspot volcano sits beside a line of extinct volcanoes. Below the surface the model labels the lithosphere, the asthenosphere, the solid mantle and the molten outer core, which begins at a depth of 2900 km. The model is not drawn to scale.
Regents Exam Questions
Released Regents questions that cannot be answered without this table, listed by exam. Each link opens the question with its answer key; the standard is the one the question assesses. The exams through August 2026 were given with the earlier edition of the ESSRT, which has the same table.
No released question has needed this table yet.