Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building GPH 111

Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building Game plan: Intro to Plate Tectonics, Wegner, and Pangea Intro to Plate Tectonics, Wegner, and Pangea Major Plate Boundaries Major Plate Boundaries Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Plate Tectonics and Mountains Plate Tectonics and Mountains Stress and Strain – Folding and Faulting Stress and Strain – Folding and Faulting Intro to Plate Tectonics, Wegner, and Pangea Intro to Plate Tectonics, Wegner, and Pangea Major Plate Boundaries Major Plate Boundaries Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Plate Tectonics and Mountains Plate Tectonics and Mountains Stress and Strain – Folding and Faulting Stress and Strain – Folding and Faulting

Continental Movements: Pangea to Now… Super- Continent Cycles

Continental Movements Australia - the fastest moving continent, 6.5 cm / year

Convergent Convergent Divergent Divergent Transform Transform Hot Spots – not technically a boundary, but cool and interesting none the less Hot Spots – not technically a boundary, but cool and interesting none the less Major Plate Boundaries…

Convergent Plate Boundary Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean

Convergent Plate Boundary Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean

Mariana Trench - 35,802 feet deep at the deepest, this is where plates dive into the mantle. That is 8 tons per square inch… Convergent Plate Boundary Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean Continent – Continent, Continent – Ocean, and Ocean - Ocean

Divergent Plate Boundary Mid-Ocean Ridges Mid-Ocean Ridges

Generates new ocean sea floor over time - driven by convective currents. Divergent Plate Boundary Mid-Ocean Ridges Mid-Ocean Ridges

Mid-Atlantic Ridge Divergent Plate Boundary

Oldest ocean floor ~180 million years Divergent Plate Boundary

Transform Boundaries San Andreas Fault

Think: Balloon on a string… Hot Spots Hawaii

Columbia Plateau and Yellowstone Hot Spots

Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building: Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Plate Tectonics and Mountains Plate Tectonics and Mountains - Convergent Boundaries - Fault Block Mountains - Isostatic Mountains Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Terrain Accretion and Continental Shields Plate Tectonics and Mountains Plate Tectonics and Mountains - Convergent Boundaries - Fault Block Mountains - Isostatic Mountains

Continental Shields Older nucleuses that younger crust (objects like Japan) adheres to are called continental shields and the process is called terrain accretion

Plate Convergence Mountains

Isostatic Mountains - Superstitions Mountains Uplift as they are eroded… Basins depress as they fill… Continents behave like wooden blocks in water…

Isostatic Mountains Old volcanic center erupted 18 million years ago, and collapsed on itself, and then rebounded into the current mountain range Superstition Mountains

Fault Block Mountains Nevada, US

Plate Tectonics and Mountain Building: Stress and Strain Stress and Strain Faulting Faulting - Normal Fault - Reverse Fault - Strike Slip Fault Stress and Strain Stress and Strain Faulting Faulting - Normal Fault - Reverse Fault - Strike Slip Fault

Stress and Strain StressStrain Stress - force on the rock; Strain - the resulting response Tension Compression Shear My Snickers

Types of Faults Your Snickers

a. b. c. Slide #1

a. b. c. Slide #2

a. b. c. Slide #3

a. b. c. Slide #4

Things to Know: Alfred Wegner and his early proposal of Continental Drift, but known today as plate tectonics Alfred Wegner and his early proposal of Continental Drift, but known today as plate tectonics The energy source that drives plate tectonics The energy source that drives plate tectonics The name for the most recent super continent, Pangea The name for the most recent super continent, Pangea The major plate boundaries: convergent, divergent, and transform, and also hot spots The major plate boundaries: convergent, divergent, and transform, and also hot spots Continental shields and terrain accretion Continental shields and terrain accretion Three ways to generate mountains: convergent plate boundaries, Isostatic, and Fault Block Three ways to generate mountains: convergent plate boundaries, Isostatic, and Fault Block The difference between stress and strain The difference between stress and strain Under what circumstances will a rock behave in a ductile or brittle fashion Under what circumstances will a rock behave in a ductile or brittle fashion The major fault types: normal, reverse, and strike slip (be able to diagram them) The major fault types: normal, reverse, and strike slip (be able to diagram them) Help: Chapter TL