PLATE TECTONICS BY: Jamie Mosely

The History of Pangaea Alfred Wegner (German geologist) created the Pangaea theory and called it Pangaea or “all the earth” which took place during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras The Pangaea Theory is the idea of the continents separating by the movement of tectonic plates Wegner’s Meteorology and Astronomy degree helped- Astronomy deals with earth and space so already knew about plates moving, the continents location, and forces that could cause the earth to change 200 million years ago the world’s continents were joined together in a Supercontinent Thermal convection in the earth's mantle was introduced by Arthur Holmes.His theory took place the same time as Wegner’s Geophysicists and American geologists proved that the tidal force was too weak to move continents – Wegner did not have convincing evidence to prove his theory correct Wegner’s theory was brought to attention by Arthur Holmes and Alexander Du Toit Arthur Holmes supported his hypotheses by talking about thermal convection in the earth. His support caused many people to recognize Wegner’s theory

Convergent Boundaries Plates – parts of the earth’s outer shell made of the earth’s crust and attached to the upper mantle- the plates are very large and divided into 2 sections divergent and convergent boundaries Convergent Boundaries- 2 or more tectonic plates colliding and one us subducted also known as destructive plate boundary – causes melting in the mantel friction and pressure -can cause earthquakes and volcanoes Results of Convergent boundaries are: earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains, landslides, mudslides, avalanches Aleutian Trench, where the Pacific Plate is being subducted under the North American Plate

Divergent Boundaries Divergent Boundary -where two tectonic plates are moving away from one another also known as constructive boundary or an extensional boundary Divergent Boundaries mostly happen at ocean ridges which is when the ocean floor lifts up caused by convection currents rising in the mantel Results of Divergent Boundaries: weak earthquakes, non-explosive volcanoes, stress (Tensional, extensional strain) The separation between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate that caused the Red Sea Rift is an example of a divergent boundary

Transform Boundaries Transform Boundaries – where 2 tectonic plates slide against, neither plate is added to or destroyed the boundary Results of Transform Boundaries: large earthquakes These boundaries do not cause major features like mountains or volcanoes San Andreas fault zone of California, Pacific and North American Plates is an example of transform boundaries

Real World connection The United states is located on the North American Plate Boarding the United States is the Caribbean Plate and the Juan de Fruca Plate Most of the United states is not in any danger. Some earthquakes that happen some states feel but do not effect most very much. Hawaii would be the state that is in the most danger because of the island being made of volcanoes. Also the Cleveland Volcano located in the Aleutian Island in Alaska. I predict that Hawaii and Alaska will have the most problems due to both of the states having volcanoes. Also because the plates are always moving that more of the States will be affect even more by the earthquakes, I predict the earthquakes will become even stronger causing more damage.

Vocabulary to Know Earthquake – tremor of earths surface, released by underground stress Volcano - pressure from the molten rock beneath the earth's surface becomes too great, usually lava or gases escape through a vent in the crust of the earth Boundary - found at the edge of the lithospheric plates, three type convergent, divergent, and transform Trench - depression in the ground, usually the depth is greater that the width Landslide - wide range of ground movement caused by gravity, ex. Rocks falling, deep slopes Mudslide - large amount of mud, similar to a landslide

Work Cited Transform Plate Boundary." World of Earth Science Encyclopedia.com. 9 Nov KidsGeo.com, By. "Kids Geo.” Geography For Kids - By KidsGeo.com Web. 06 Nov Comparison, By. "CVO Website - Plate Tectonics and Sea-Floor Spreading." USGS Cascades Volcano Observatory (CVO). 12 June Web. 09 Nov