PLATE TECTONICS

1. land is neither created nor destroyed

2. 7 major plates: nazca, pacific, north america, south america, eurasian, australian, african

3. Pangea

3.1. gondwana: african, south america, antarctica, indo australian, sub india.

3.2. laurasia: north america, asia, europe

4. plates float as a result of convection currents created by the heat within the earth

5. plates may move : alongside, towards, and away from each other

6. destructive/ subduction zone/covergent

6.1. oceanic crust moving towards continental crust, the oceanic crust sinks and is destroyed because it is heavier

6.2. form deep sea trenches, mountains, volcanic island arcs

6.3. eg. nazca and south america form ANDES (mountain)

6.3.1. move away from each other

6.4. juan de fuca and north america form ROCKIES (mountain)

6.5. cocos and caribbean form VOLCANIC ISLAND ARC OF W.I( volcanic island arc)

7. transform/conservative/passive/parallel

7.1. eg. SAN ANDREAS FAULT

8. Alfred Wegener, german geophysicist made first complete statement of continental drift hypothesis, in 1912.

9. study of the movement of the earth's plates and their land forms

10. plates- divisions of the lithosphere floating on the asthenosphere

11. constructive/ spreading/divergent:

11.1. move away from each other causing new oceanic crust to rise/appear

11.2. form volcanic mid oceanic ridges

11.3. eg. north america and south america from eurasia and africa create the MID ATLANTIC RIDGE

11.4. eg. nazca and pacific form EAST PACIFIC RIDGE/ RISE

12. collision zone

12.1. 2 continental crust collide

12.2. form fold mountains

12.3. eg. indian and eurasian form HIMALAYAS

12.4. eg. african and eurasian form ALPS