Plate Tectonics Ride the lightning… Kind of… if by lightning you mean lava!

Back in the day For most of Geological history people thought the continents and oceans were fixed For most of Geological history people thought the continents and oceans were fixed Didn’t move and were always in the same place Didn’t move and were always in the same place They also believed that the earth was always the same and if anything changed it happened all at once They also believed that the earth was always the same and if anything changed it happened all at once Instead of over time Instead of over time

So close… yet so far After some time went by a scientist by the name of Alfred Wegener noticed how the west coast of Africa and the east coast of South America fit together almost like puzzle pieces After some time went by a scientist by the name of Alfred Wegener noticed how the west coast of Africa and the east coast of South America fit together almost like puzzle pieces With other noticeable reasons With other noticeable reasons He then came up with the idea that continents are “floating” or rolling across the ocean floor in different directions He then came up with the idea that continents are “floating” or rolling across the ocean floor in different directions The Theory was called Continental Drift The Theory was called Continental Drift

Fail… but not epically One of the biggest reasons his theory failed is due to his inability to explain the force behind the continents moving One of the biggest reasons his theory failed is due to his inability to explain the force behind the continents moving The theory was ahead of it’s time The theory was ahead of it’s time But not enough information about the earth was known to prefect the theory But not enough information about the earth was known to prefect the theory Some geologist looked for evidence to support his theory Some geologist looked for evidence to support his theory

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If at first you don’t succeed… let someone else do it From Continental drift came a new idea (Plate Tectonics) From Continental drift came a new idea (Plate Tectonics) This is currently the accepted theory This is currently the accepted theory The theory is based on the concept that “plates” on the surface of the Earth float and move around The theory is based on the concept that “plates” on the surface of the Earth float and move around The movement is caused by convection in the mantle The movement is caused by convection in the mantle Plates come in two types Plates come in two types Oceanic Oceanic Continental Continental

Dropping Plates As plates move around they have different types of boundaries As plates move around they have different types of boundaries Convergent Convergent Divergent Divergent Transform Transform Sometimes boundaries have multiple combinations of these Sometimes boundaries have multiple combinations of these

Coming together Convergent plate boundaries Convergent plate boundaries Means that two plates are “colliding” together Means that two plates are “colliding” together There are three different kinds of convergent boundaries There are three different kinds of convergent boundaries Ocean + Ocean Ocean + Ocean Continent + Ocean Continent + Ocean Continent + Continent Continent + Continent

Draw the Picture Draw the Picture

Now it’s time to separate Diverging plate boundaries occur when plates separate each other Diverging plate boundaries occur when plates separate each other As the plates separate lava fills in the empty space adding area to the plate As the plates separate lava fills in the empty space adding area to the plate

If these are transform faults… where’s Optomus Prime? The final fault is transform The final fault is transform This is when two plates slide past each other This is when two plates slide past each other The San Andreas in California is a great example of one The San Andreas in California is a great example of one Given a long enough time Seattle will be a suburb of L.A. Given a long enough time Seattle will be a suburb of L.A.