1. Intro to Physical Geography

2. The study of rocks and the physical history of the earth.
Geology
The study of rocks and the physical history of the earth.

3. Continental Drift
1915 German Scientist Alfred Wegener suggested the theory of Continental Drift
Believed that 300 million years ago, all Earth’s land masses collided to form land mass he called Pangaea (“all land”)
200 million years ago, Pangaea broke into pieces, slowly drifting to the positions of the continents today

4. Pangaea

7. Wegener’s Four Proofs
Video About the 4 Proofs Of Continental Drift

8. Evidence of Continental Drift
South America & Africa seem to fit together

9. Evidence of Continental Drift
Fossils of the same plants and animals on different continents
E.g. the Mesosaurus, a reptile which lived in fresh waters - it could not have traveled across the sea.

10. Evidence of Continental Drift
There are mountains and rocks of similar age and structure on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean
E.g. The Appalachians (eastern US and Canada) and the Caledonian Mountains in Northern British Isles and Europe

11. Evidence of Continental Drift
Ice sheets covered parts of southern Africa, India, Australia, and South America approx. 250 million years ago but these places are warm today!
Coral reefs around Antarctica

12. An Unbelievable Theory ?
Wegener died in 1930 before there was acceptance of his theory
He could not explain HOW the continents moved – suggested tidal forces but did not make sense
1960s, Canadian J. Tuzo Wilson helped to bring up theory again
Newer technology able to help
explain…

13. What Will the Earth Look Like
Vide of what the Earth used to look like – and what it will look like in the far future

14. Pangaea Ultima
The world may look like this in another 250 million years

15. Plate Tectonics Theory
Helps to explain most geologic processes
States that Earth’s outer shell consists of plates that move causing earthquakes, volcanoes, mountains and the formation of new crust

16. Plate Tectonics Earth’s outer shell consists of about 20 plates
most have both continental & oceanic crust

17. Plate Tectonics
Plates are floating on layer of hot rock - the mantle

18. Tectonic Video
Video About Tectonic Plates

19. Plate Tectonics Don’t entirely understand what makes the plates move
Think that unequal distribution of heat within the core of the earths
causes convection
currents in the mantle
that push the plates
around

20. Plate Tectonics When plates are pushed together you could get:
A mountain range
A volcano
New crust
An earthquake

21. The 3 Kinds of Plates Boundaries

22. 1) Divergent Boundaries
The plates are moving away from each other
Ex: Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Explains the hot springs that run through Iceland

23. 2) Convergent Boundaries
The plates are pushing toward each other
Ex: the boundary between the Eurasian and the Indian plates under the Himalayas

24. 3) Transform Boundary The 2 plates slide past each other
Ex: the boundary between the North American plate and the Pacific plate in California

25. Plate Tectonics
Earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain ranges usually follow plate boundaries
Earthquake map below

26. Plate Tectonics
Volcanic activity surrounding the Pacific Plate has been labeled the “Pacific Ring of Fire”

27. Volcanoes
Volcanoes can occur when one plate is pushed under another (oceanic plates are heavier and will push up the lighter continental plates)

28. Volcanoes
Canada’s west coast has currently dormant (sleeping) but not extinct (dead) volcanoes

29. Mountain Ranges
Mountains are created when plates push against each other and fold the crust
Mountain ranges can also be volcanic in nature

30. Watching the Himalayas Form
How the Himalayas Were Formed

31. Canada’s Mountains New West Coast Mountains The Rockies
Old East Coast Mountains The Appalachians

32. Earthquakes
Earthquakes happen when 2 plates rub against each other, causing friction

33. Earthquakes
The San Andreas fault is a large crack in the earth's surface where two gigantic plates are sliding past one another (California)

34. Tsunamis
Tsunamis, like the one that hit Japan in March 2011, are caused by underwater earthquakes

35. Tsunami March, 2011

36. Tsunami December, 2004

37. Tsunamis
City of Banda Aceh, Indonesia before and after the tsunami in 2004

38. Tsunamis and Canada
Location: West coast of British Columbia Date: March 27, 1964 Description:
The strongest North American earthquake of the century, measuring 8.5 on the Richter scale, struck off Anchorage, Alaska.
It sent a tsunami travelling at over 700 km an hour hurtling toward the BC coast. The 4.3 m wave destroyed houses and flooded basements in Hot Springs Cove and Bamfield on the coast of Vancouver Island.
The wave travelled up Alberni Inlet and flooded town of Port Alberni.
Luckily, no one was killed, but damages caused by the wave totaled over $8 million.