Plate Tectonics, Physical Processes and Influence The Land Plate Tectonics, Physical Processes and Influence

Landforms Shapes on the planet’s surface Make up the landscape that surrounds us. Such as: Mountains-land that rises higher than 2,000ft Valleys-areas of low land located between mountains or hills Plains-Stretches of mostly flat land Islands-areas of land completely surrounded by water Peninsula- land surrounded by water on three sides

Plate Tectonics Theory of plate tectonics Suggests that Earth’s surface is divided into a dozen or so slow moving plates, or piece of Earth Earth’s plate move slowly up to several inches per year

Plate Tectonics

Continental Drift Theory Developed by Alfred Wegener States that the continents were once united as a single continent called Pangea. According to the theory Earth’s plates shifted over millions of years which resulted in the continents slowly separating http://www.teachertube.c om/video/continental- drift-soar-350767 Earth’s continents still continue to move toward each other and colliding sliding and separating forming our landforms

Plates colliding Plates separating Plates sliding

Plates Colliding Their collision produces distinct landforms The collision of different types of plates creates different shapes on Earth’s surface such as Ocean trenches-deep valleys in the Ocean floor Mountain Ranges The world’s highest mountain range the Himalayas were formed when the Indian Plate crashed into the Eurasian Plate

Plates Separating As plates move apart, gaps between the plates allow magma, a liquid rock from the Earth’s interior, to rise to the Earth’s crust As the lava cools it builds a mid ocean ridge or underwater mountain. The separation of the North American and Eurasian plates formed the largest underwater mountain The Mid Atlantic Ridge

Plates Sliding As plates slide past one another they Sometimes grind together This grinding produces Earthquakes-sudden, violent movements of the Earth’s crust They often happen along faults or breaks in the Earth’s crust

Plates Sliding Cont. In California the Pacific Plate is sliding by the edges of the North America Plate and has created the San Andreas Fault Zone The frequent movement this plate produces many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions The Ring of Fire is located in the region around the Pacific plate and is home to most of the world’s earthquakes and volcanoes

Ring of Fire

San Andreas Fault

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcPghqnnTVk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg_UBLFUpYQ

Physical Environment Process The processes that work to change the landforms on Earth’s surface some of which were created by tectonic plates Weathering Erosion

Weathering Wears away landforms The process by which rock is broken down into smaller pieces Several factors can cause rock to break In the desert- daytime heat and nighttime cooling can cause the rock to crack Water may get into cracks and freeze, the ice expands with a force that can break a rock Even roots of trees can pry them apart These small pieces of rock are called sediments Once weather has taken place wind, ice and water often move sediments from once place to another

Weathering

Erosion Changes landforms Wind, Ice and water all cause erosion They can wear away or build up landforms Powerful winds often cause erosion, and it can carry sediments across a great distance and can deposit large amounts of sand to form sand dunes(build up) Glaciers also have the power to cause erosion Water is the most common kind of erosion Waves in oceans and lakes can wear away the shore

Erosion

Weathering and Erosion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exS9gFXgib0

How landforms influence life Where people settle The culture Influence jobs Language Learning ways to adapt or modify