Plate Tectonics:

Earth's Plates and Continental

Drift

Motion is our Motto

• Some questions we will answer today:

– How is the earth always changing?

– What forces inside the earth create and
change landforms on the surface?
– What is the theory of plate tectonics and how
does it work?
– What two theories help make up the theory of plate
tectonics?
– What is continental drift and sea floor spreading?
– What happens when the plates crash together, pull
apart, and slide against each other?
 PLATES
A plate is a large, rigid piece of the Earth's crust and
upper mantle that moves slowly over the surface of the
Earth. These plates are part of the lithosphere, the
outermost layer of the Earth.
There are two main types of plates:
•Oceanic Plates – mostly under the oceans (e.g., Pacific
Plate)
•Continental Plates – carry continents (e.g., Eurasian
Plate)
•The Earth's surface is divided into several major and minor
tectonic plates.
•These plates float and move on the softer, semi-liquid
layer beneath called the asthenosphere.
•The movement of these plates causes natural events like
earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and the formation of
mountains.
 The Earth’s Layers
• The Earth is made of many different and distinct layers. The
deeper layers are composed of heavier materials; they are
hotter, denser and under much greater pressure than the
outer layers.

• Natural forces interact with and affect the earth’s crust,

creating the landforms, or natural features, found on the
surface of the earth.
Before we start to look at the forces that contribute
to landforms,lets look at the different layers of
the earth that play a vital role in the formation of
our continents, mountains, volcanoes, etc.
 Crust

Mantle
Outer Core

Inner Core

crust - the rigid, rocky outer surface of the Earth, composed mostly of basalt
and granite. The crust is thinner under the oceans.
mantle - a rocky layer located under the crust - it is composed of silicon,
oxygen, magnesium, iron, aluminum, and calcium. Convection (heat) currents
carry heat from the hot inner mantle to the cooler outer mantle.
outer core - the molten iron-nickel layer that surrounds the inner core.
inner core - the solid iron-nickel center of the Earth that is very hot and under
great pressure.
 Continental Drift Evidence:
1. Jig-Saw Fit
• Continents fit together like Puzzle pieces
2. Fossil Evidence
• fossils of same age and species were found in
connecting bands on different continents
3. Rock Types and Structure
• Similar bands of rocks types and mountain belts
connect
4. Ancient Climates
5. PANGAEA!
 Rejecting the Hypothesis
• Most scientists rejected Wegener’s ground
breaking hypothesis because he could not
provide an explanating of how the plates
moved
• A NEW THEORY EMERGES!
 Seafloor Spreading
• In Wegener’s theory, continents “plowed”
through the sea like bull-dozers.
– Not the case. Continents are actually
connected to plates, which move
• Continents actually move with lithospheric
plates that are pushed by Mid-Ocean
ridges
 Harry Hess

• Discovered “Mid-Ocean Ridges

– Spreading centers for tectonic plates
• Noticed magnetic stripes on the ocean
floor which proved that new crust was
being created at these ocean ridges
• Provided the mechanism for how the
plates moved.
DID YOU KNOW?
 Land and Water
• Photographs of the earth taken from space
show clearly that it is a truly a ”watery
planet.”
• More than 70 percent of the earth’s
surface is covered by water, mainly the
salt water of oceans and seas.
 Land
•The large landmasses in the oceans are called
continents.
Landforms are commonly classified according to
differences in relief. The relief is the difference in
elevation between the highest and lowest points. Another
important characteristic is whether they rise gradually or
steeply.
•The major types of landforms are mountains, hills,
plateaus, and plains.
• Most people know that Earth is moving
around the Sun and that it is constantly
spinning.

• But did YOU know that the continents and

oceans are moving across the surface of the
planet?

• Volcanoes and earthquakes as well as

mountain ranges and islands all are results
of this movement.
Plate Tectonics
 Plate Tectonics

• Plate tectonics - Earth’s surface composed thick plates that move

• Intense geologic activity is concentrated at plate boundaries
• Combination of continental drift and seafloor spreading hypotheses
proposed in late 1960s
Connecting Mountain Ranges
• Most of these changes in the earth’s
surface takes place so slowly that they are
not immediately noticeable to the human
eye.

• The idea that the earth’s landmasses have

broken apart, rejoined, and moved to other
parts of the globe forms part of the
– plate tectonic theory.
 Plate Tectonic Theory
About forty years ago, scientists exploring the seafloor found that it is full of tall
mountains and deep trenches, a single seafloor mountain chain circles Earth and
contains some of Earth’s tallest mountains.
Along this mountain chain is a deep crack in the top layers of earth. Here the
seafloor is pulling apart and the two parts are moving in opposite directions,
carrying along the continents and oceans that rest on top of them. These pieces of
Earth’s top layer are called tectonic plates. They are moving very slowly, but
constantly. (Most plates are moving about as fast as your fingernails are growing
-- not very fast!) Currently Earth’s surface layers are divided into nine very large
plates and several smaller ones.
According to the theory of plate tectonics, the
earth’s outer shell is not one solid piece of
rock. Instead the earth’s crust is broken into
a number of moving plates. The plates vary
in size and thickness.
 Plate Tectonics

• Plate tectonics - Earth’s surface composed thick plates that move

• Intense geologic activity is concentrated at plate boundaries
• Combination of continental drift and seafloor spreading hypotheses
proposed in late 1960s
 Plate Tectonics
• The theory explaining how the movements of
earth’s “TECTONIC PLATES” or “moving plates”
create the geologic events like earthquakes,
volcanoes and tsunamis.
• Lithospheric Plates- giant puzzle pieces
connecting on the surface of earth.
– These sit on top of mantle so they can move around
 Review: Three Types of Plate
Boundaries

But how do we
know that plates
move at all ? Transform Convergent Divergent
(strike-slip) (subduction) (spreading)
 Plate Boundaries
• Three types:
– Divergent Boundary
– Convergent Boundary
– Transform Boundary
 DIVERGENT BOUNDARY

A divergent boundary occurs when two

tectonic plates move away from each other.
Along these boundaries, earthquakes are
common and magma (molten rock) rises from
the Earth's mantle to the surface, solidifying
to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic
Ridge is an example of divergent plate
boundaries
Divergent (Spreading):This is where
two plates move away from each other.
Molten rock from the mantle erupts
along the opening, forming new crust.
The earthquakes that occur along
these zones, called spreading centers,
are relatively small. The Great Rift
Valley in Africa, the Red Sea and the
Gulf of Aden all formed as a result of
divergent plate motion.
A divergent boundary occurs when
two tectonic plates move away from
one another, creating a crack between
them that can be filled with magma to
form a new crust. Tectonic plates are
plates of Earth's crust afloat in a sea of
hot magma. These plates can either
be oceanic plates or continental
plates.
 Divergence Between Oceanic
Plates
The majority of divergent boundaries
are between two oceanic plates.
Magma rises to occupy the gap when
the plates split up, resulting in
underwater volcanoes. This leads to
the creation of underwater ridges,
like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and new
crusts.
 Divergence Between
Continental Plates
Continental plates are thicker than oceanic
plates. So when they separate, the crack
they have created will first be filled with
water. A new ocean had already formed in
the gap before the magma could cover it.
These are called rift valleys before the water
rushes in. An example of this is the East
African Rift.
 Mixed Plate Divergence

When a divergent boundary occurs between

an oceanic and a continental plate, the
result could have characteristics of both.
They vary depending on whether the
boundary is situated on a specific fault line
(land or ocean) and whether the plates are
continental or oceanic.
Divergent Boundary
Examples
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a product of an
oceanic divergent boundary. It separates the
Eurasian Plate from the North American Plate.
The ridge is underwater and continuously forming
new crusts. Traveling further along the boundary,
we will reach Iceland, where a continental rift will
eventually form.
The East African Rift is a continental divergent
boundary located in East Africa. It has been
developing for the last 22 to 25 million years and
is where the African Plate will soon split into the
Somali and Nubian plates. Come 10 million years,
a rift will break them apart, and a new ocean will
be created.
CONVERGENT BOUNDARY
Continent to Continent collision
• When two continents collide, you will get
mountain ranges
– Example: Himalayans (India crashing into
Asia)
Convergent boundaries, also called destructive
boundaries, are places where two or more plates
move toward each other. Convergent boundary
movement is divided into two types, subduction and
collision, depending on the density of the involved
plates. Continental lithosphere is of lower density
and thus more buoyant than the underlying
asthenosphere. Oceanic lithosphere is denser than
continental lithosphere, and, when old and cold, may
even be denser than asthenosphere.
A convergent boundary occurs
when two tectonic plates move
towards each other. This can
result in one plate sinking
under the other, or the two
plates colliding to push the
lithosphere upwards.
The characteristics that describe
convergent boundaries are
subduction, where one plate
sinks under another, and
collision, where two plates crash
together. This creates features
like volcanoes, mountains, and
more.
What are the 3 convergent plate
boundaries?
The three types of convergent plate
boundaries are continental-
continental, continental-oceanic, and
oceanic-oceanic. At a continental-
continental boundary, both plates
are of equal density and so they
push the lithosphere upward. At
continental-oceanic or oceanic-
oceanic boundaries, the plates are
different densities, and one sinks
India and Asia
 Ocean to Ocean Convergance
• Two oceanic slab converge together. One is
pulled under the other
• Often forms volcanoes on seafloor
– Volcanic Island Arcs
• Aleutian Islands
– Alaska
 Ocean to Ocean Convergent
• Aleutian Island, Alaska, US
 Ocean to Continental
Convergance
• ALSO KNOWN AS SUBDUCTION ZONE
• Oceanic plate is forced down into the mantle
beneath a second continental plate
• Creates volcanoes and deep ocean trenches
– Examples Andes and Marianna Trench
– Marianna Trench is deepest place in the WORLD!
35,000 feet deep!!!!!
Subduction Zone
 Subduction Zone process
• Denser ocean slab pulled underneith
continent
• As it is pulled under, the oceanic crust
begins to melt.
• When crust begins to melt, magma rises
• Magma rises to surface and creates
volcanoes
TRANSFORM BOUNDARIES
Two plates sliding past each other forms a
transform plate boundary. One of the most famous
transform plate boundaries occurs at the San
Andreas fault zone, which extends underwater.
Natural or human-made structures that cross a
transform boundary are offset — split into pieces
and carried in opposite directions. Rocks that line
the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind
along, creating a linear fault valley or undersea
canyon. Earthquakes are common along these
faults. In contrast to convergent and divergent
boundaries, crust is cracked and broken at
transform margins, but is not created or destroyed.
 Transform Boundaries
• Plates grind past each other without destroying
or creating new lithosphere
• Like cars passing each other on a highway
• Creates tremendous earthquakes
• Example: San Andreas Fault
Transform Boundaries
The meaning of a transform plate
boundary is that the Earth is
transformed by its movement. This
transformation occurs by displacing
massive amounts of rock for a long
distance or creating valleys and ridges
along the boundary. These boundaries
slide laterally against each other.
What happens at a transform
boundary?
At a transform boundary, tectonic
plates slide past each other in
opposite directions, causing
earthquakes, displacing rocks, and
creating ridges and valleys along
each side of the strike-slip fault.
What is a real-world example of a
transform boundary?
The San Andreas Fault, a boundary
between the North American Plate
and the Pacific Plate, created a major
earthquake in 1906 when it moved
nearly 300 miles.
 How do Plates Move?
• The crust lies on top of the mantle.
• It is believed that convection currents cause
movement in the asthenosphere. Heat rises from
interior.
• Areas where the asthenosphere is raising causes
plates to move apart (diverge) and areas where the
asthenosphere is sinking causes plates to move
together (converge).
 Why do plates move?
• Clear answer is yet unknown
• There are theories for “Ridge Push”,
“Trench Suction”, and just plain old
“Gravity”