PLATE TECTONICS
by Jannel Blake
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