Activity! -Get out your earthquake maps and plot this week's points

Plate Tectonics Earth's surface is broken up into enormous "plates" that move incredibly slowly. Many of these plates are even bigger than continents! The plates extend under the oceans as well, and even the deepest sea floor rests on top of tectonic plates

What did you notice when you were drawing the plate boundaries on your maps?

Tectonic Plates cause earthquakes! When these huge pieces of Earth's crust RUB up against each other, the tension builds up and eventually is released in the form of an earthquake https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=- zNyVPsj8zc&feature=related

What about other ways that tectonic plates interact? Tectonic plates can converge (push into each other) This happens in a variety of ways around the world

Continent-Continent Interaction When two continental plates CONVERGE, the two tend to crash together and fold. Where these two plates meet, the land is pushed upward and forms mountains

Continent-Oceanic Plate Interaction: When a continental and an oceanic plate CONVERGE, the oceanic crust tends to slide under the continental crust. This raises the continental plate, and creates mountain ranges near the coast.

Oceanic-Oceanic Plate Interactions: When two oceanic plates CONVERGE, one tends to slide under the other. This often creates a deep trench, or underwater valley. Often, where oceanic plates converge, you can find underwater volcanoes, that build up for millions of years and become islands.

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