Download presentation
Presentation is loading. Please wait.
1
PLATE TECTONICS AND CONTINENTAL DRIFT
AUGUST 30, 2016
2
FALCON FOCUS SOLVE THE PUZZLE ON THE NEXT SLIDE
4
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What evidence supports that at one time the continental plates were together as Pangaea?
5
Plate Tectonics…what is it?
Plate tectonics is the theory that explains the formation, movement and subduction of Earth’s plates
6
How do the Plates move? The plates of the Earth move because of Convection Currents in the asthenosphere rising and causing the movement.
7
What happens when the plates move?
No plate can budge without affecting the other plates surrounding it. As the plates move, they collide pull apart, or grind past each other producing changes in the Earth’s surface.
8
What kind of Changes? Volcanoes! Earthquakes! Mountain ranges! Sea-trenches!
9
Where are these plates? IN THE LITHOSPHERE!
10
PROOF or it didn’t happen…
EVIDENCE #1 The continents used to fit together like puzzle pieces before the plates moved them apart Scientists call this Supercontinenet: PANGAEA How do I say that?? PAN-GEE-UH
11
Continental drift Continental drift was Wegener’s theory that all continents had once been joined together in a single landmass and have drifted apart since. Wegener named this supercontinent Pangaea. Wegener’s theory was rejected by scientists because he could not explain what force pushes or pulls continents. Continental drift video clip
12
Wegener earthobservatory.nasa.gov Alfred Wegener first proposed the theory of continental drift.
13
As the plates continued to move and separate, OCEANS formed Landmasses collided and split apart until they ended up where they are now
14
PROOF or it didn’t happen…
EVIDENCE #2 Fossils on different continents are similar to fossils on continents that were once connected. When the continents split, different life forms developed. Continents that were once connected also have identical landform shapes and features and identical rock formations
16
PROOF or it didn’t happen…
EVIDENCE #3 Most features on land and in the ocean are the result of geological activity and earthquakes along plate boundaries (where the pieces meet). The exact patterns depend on HOW the plates are moving… together – apart – or sliding.
17
What else do we know? The plates are still moving!! Though they move VERY SLOWLY between 1-10 centimeters per year
18
What else do we know? There are places within the lithosphere where magma rises and leaks through the crust This is called a HOT SPOT and is where volcanic activity occurs. HOTSPOTS are how the Hawaiian islands were formed!!
19
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
AUGUST 31, 2016
20
FALCON FOCUS - REVIEW CHECK
What are two evidences of the continental drift theory? What is Pangaea? Where are the tectonic plates located? What part of the Earth do tectonic plates float on? How do tectonic plates move?
21
ESSENTIAL QUESTION What landforms result from a Convergent Boundary?
22
Plate Boundaries Boundaries
Plates float on the upper mantle (Asthenosphere) They move due to Convection Currents The edges of the different plates meet at lines called Boundaries At the border of plate boundaries are…. FAULTS—breaks or cracks in the Earth’s crust
23
Types of Boundaries There are 3 different types of boundaries that occur because of their different movement Convergent Boundaries Divergent Boundaries Transform Boundaries
24
Convergent Boundaries
2 plate boundaries come together or collide A collision is when two plates hit each other CRUST CRUST
25
What happens when they hit?
The DENSITY of the crustal plates colliding determines if either… A) One plate goes under the other B) The plates rise up Either way…. An Earthquake can always (and often does) occur when two plates interact
26
Collisions PREDICTION TIME: Basalt (what Oceanic Crust is made out of) is more dense than Continental Crust. What do you think will happen to the plate that is MORE dense?
27
SUBDUCTION ZONE CRUST INVOLVED: OCEANIC & CONTINENTAL
MOVEMENT: More dense plate (Oceanic) slides under or sinks below the less dense Continental plate. FORCE/STRESS ON THE ROCK: Compression (push or squeeze rocks) LAND FORMS: Trenches, crust going below into the mantle melts and recycles Island arcs and volcanic arcs (small mountain ranges)
28
SUBDUCTION ZONE
29
SUBDUCTION ZONE
30
TRENCHES
31
ISLAND ARC
32
VOLCANIC ARC
33
MOUNTAINS & VOLCANOES CRUST INVOLVED: CONTINENTAL & CONTINENTAL
MOVEMENT: Both plates buckle and push up FORCE/STRESS ON THE ROCK: Compression (push or squeeze rocks) LAND FORMS: Mountain ranges Volcanoes AND EARTHQUAKES! INCRUST INVOLVED: CONTINENTAL and push up AND EARTHQUAKES!OLVED: CONTINENTAL & CONTINENTAL \
36
DIVERGENT AND TRANFORM BOUNDARIES
SEPTEMBER 1
37
FALCON FOCUS With reference to the types of crusts, describe how converging boundaries are formed.
38
ESSENTIAL QUESTION WHAT LANDFORMS RESULT FROM A DIVERGENT BOUNDARY?
39
Landforms from Convergent Boundaries
Deep ocean trench – includes oceanic and continental plates; as oceanic subducts, it pulls the front edge of the continental plate. Volcanoes – includes oceanic and continental; continental plate melts due to friction and extreme heat; melted plate rises up through crust and cools when it reaches surface Volcanic island arc- includes only oceanic plates; subduction occurs Folded mountains – includes only continental plates; collision occurs; no subduction
40
PEER/PAIR ASSIGNMENT To your favorite Rap beat, compose a lyric to describe the types of boundaries (convergent, divergent and transform). You will be graded on content, creativity and performance. Presentation – tomorrow Lyrics MUST be typed!!!
41
Divergent Boundaries The place where two plates move apart—or diverge—is called a divergent boundary Most divergent boundaries occur at the mid-ocean ridge—so crust is forming When divergent boundaries occur on land, a rift valley is formed
42
Divergent Boundaries
A plate boundary where two plates move away from each other. RIFTING causes SEAFLOOR SPREADING
43
How is the rock pulled at Divergent Boundaries
How is the rock pulled at Divergent Boundaries? Rock gets THIN in the middle as it is pulled apart. This STRESS is called
44
What happens when the rock SNAPS from the Stress of Tension
What happens when the rock SNAPS from the Stress of Tension? A Normal Fault (fault is a break in Earth’s crust) Rock drops down as it breaks
45
What happens next at Divergent Boundaries?
A geologic feature or event… May form RIFT VALLEYS on continents SEA-FLOOR SPREADING in the ocean
46
Helpful Hints… Divergent is like “dissecting” or “dividing”
If you pull warm bubble gum or silly putty, it will thin in the middle until it is stressed so much that it breaks. Happens on land & under H2O
47
Features of Divergent Boundaries
Mid-ocean ridges rift valleys fissure volcanoes
48
TRANSFORM BOUNDARY SEPTEMBER 2, 2016
49
FALCON FOCUS Can you match the boundary name correctly with its diagram? _____________
50
ESSENTIAL QUESTION WHAT LANDFORMS RESULT FROM A TRANSFORM BOUNDARY?
51
Transform Boundaries Along transform boundaries crust isn’t created or destroyed At a transform boundary the two plates slip past each other
52
Transform Boundaries A plate boundary where two plates move past each other in opposite direction.
53
How is the rock broken at Transform Boundaries?
Rock is pushed in two opposite directions (or sideways, but no rock is lost) This stress is called SHEARING
54
What happens next at Transform Boundaries?
May cause Earthquakes when the rock snaps from the pressure. A famous a Transform Boundary is the San Andreas Fault in California.
55
San Andreas Fault, CA
56
What happens when the rock is sheared (or “cut”) from the Stress of Shearing?
A STRIKE-SLIP FAULT Rocks on each side of the fault slip past each other as they break.
57
Helpful Hints… Shearing means cutting (“Shears” are like scissors) Transform boundaries run like trains going past each other in different directions & they shake the ground!
58
Plate Boundaries: Correct Answers: Divergent Convergent Transform
59
Station Work WHAT IS THE THEORY OF PLATE TECTONICS?
WHAT IS A RIFT VALLEY? HOW IS IT FORMED? WHAT TYPES OF PLATE MOVEMENT OCCUR AT PLATE BOUNDARIES WHAT MAJOR EVENT BEGAN ABOUT 225 MILLION YEARS AGO? LABEL ALL THE BOUNDARIES ON FIGURE 5 (OVERHEAD) AS TRANSFORM, CONVERGENT OR DIVERGENT.
Similar presentations
© 2025 SlidePlayer.com. Inc.
All rights reserved.