Plate Tectonics Essay

There are three different types of plate boundaries. The first type of plate boundaries is, the spreading boundary. A spreading boundary is when two plates move apart. The spreading boundary is also known as a divergent boundary. The second type of plate boundary is a colliding boundary. A colliding boundary is when two plates come together, or collide. It is also known as convergent boundary. The third is, a sliding boundary. A sliding boundary is when two plates slip past each other moving in opposite directions. It is also known as transform boundary. Those were the three different types of plate

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above the core. Compared to the mantle, the plates are a hard, tough, and rigid shell. California is made up of different types of plates that are unique in the way that they form and move. (LiveScience)

II: Plate tectonics shows the features and movement of the Earth. The theory of plate tectonics says that the outer shell of the earth is broken down into pieces often called plates (Korenaga). These plates hover over the mantle creating movement (Marshak). With plate tectonics you can determine the earth’s features without actually seeing it.

Earthquakes can be created on any of the plate boundaries. Earthquakes occur when tension is released from inside the crust. Plates do not always move smoothly alongside each other and sometimes get stuck. When this happens pressure builds up. When this pressure is eventually released, an earthquake tends to occur. The point inside the crust where the pressure is released is called the focus. The point on the Earth's surface above the focus is called the epicentre. Earthquake energy is released in seismic waves. These waves spread out from the focus. The waves are felt most strongly at the epicentre, becoming less strong as they travel further away. The most severe damage caused by an earthquake will happen close to the epicentre.

There are three distinct types of plate boundaries existing, which are supported by geological observation, geophysical data, and theoretical considerations. Their names and categories are based on if adjacent plates move apart from each other (divergent plate margins), toward one another (convergent plate margins), or slip past one another in a direction parallel to their common boundary (transform plate margins) (Pitman, W.C., 2007).

The theory of plate tectonics states that Earth’s outer shell is divided into plates. The crust and upper mantle is broken into plates that move around on the mantle, changing in size throughout time. The lithosphere makes up the crust and upper mantle and the asthenosphere a plastic like layer beneath the lithosphere. There are three types of plate boundaries. Divergent boundaries where two plates move away from each other. The ocean widens and new crust forms at the mid-oceanic ridge. Convergent boundaries has three types of converging, moving two plates towards each other. First we have an ocean floor plate that collides with a less dense continental plate. Next an ocean floor plate collides with another ocean floor plate. Finally a continental plate collides with another continental plate. Transform boundaries were two plates slide past one another. The resulting effects of plate tectonics is landforms such as rift valleys,

The creation of the Ring of Fire is very interesting too, it is the result of plate tectonics. These are huge slabs of Earth’s crust that fit together like the pieces of a puzzle. These plates can collide, stay apart, or move up right next to each other. The convergent plate boundaries are formed by plates colliding into each other. The heavier plates slide under the lighter plates causing a deep trench in the ocean floor, as we talked about earlier. If you went down into the ocean you’d be able to see a bunch of trenches in the ocean floor running parallel to corresponding volcanic arcs like the Ring of Fire. This allows islands and continental mountain ranges to be created. A divergent boundary is formed by

Plate tectonics are very dangerous when they collide,slide,and move apart. They can create mountains like the Appalachian Mountains that used to tower over everything then erosion took place. The Appalachian Mountains were formed by convergent boundaries, convergent boundaries are collide

Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that attempts to explain the movements of the Earth's lithosphere that have formed the landscape features we see across the globe today” (Briney). Geology defines “plate” as a large slab of solid rock, and “tectonics” is part of the Greek root word for “to build.” Together the words define how the Earth’s surface is built up of moving plates. The theory of plate tectonics dictates that individual plates, broken down into large and small sections of rock, form Earth’s lithosphere. These fragmented bodies of rock move along each other atop the Earth’s liquid lower mantle to create the plate boundaries that have shaped Earth’s landscape. Plate tectonics originated from meteorologist Alfred Wegener’s theory, developed in the early 20th century. In 1912, he realized that the east coast of South America and the west coast of Africa appeared to piece together like a jigsaw puzzle. He further examined the globe and deduced that all of Earth’s continents could somehow be assembled together and proposed the idea that the continents had once been linked in a single supercontinent called Pangaea. To explain today’s position of the continents, Wegener theorized that they began to drift apart approximately 300 million years ago. This theory

of the effects of plate tectonics acting over geologic time. The story begins with the

The New Madrid Seismic Zone is also known as the New Madrid Fault Line. A fault is a thin zone of crushed rock that separates the Earth’s crust. Whenever an earthquake takes place, it occurs on one of the faults. Then the rock on one of the sides slips with respect to the other. The fault line is made up of reactivated faults. The reactivated faults formed when North America began to separate. Faults were formed next to rift and igneous rocks were formed from the magma that was pushed up to the surface (Wapedia (2010). The rift was covered with younger sediments. The sediments that covered the rift included Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary rocks of the Mississippi embayment. Large amounts of the sediment was loosely consolidated, soft and sandy as a result of the ground shaking, ground deformation, slides, slumps, and liquefaction. A mass of intrusive igneous rock (also known as pluton, mass of igneous rock and a deep reservoir of magma)

Name 3 ways that Earth’s plates interact with each other. Earth's plates interact with each other by colliding,splitting up,merging

The three major types of tectonic plates are divergent, subduction and transform. Divergent plates tend to move apart from each other. Subduction plates are when oceanic plate moves under a continental plate. This can cause volcanos to erupt and large sized earthquakes. Transform plates slide back and forth against one another. The Lithosphere consists of the Earths crust and uppermost mantle. The North American plate and the South American plate are the major plates of the lithosphere. The lithosphere also consists of the Pacific plate, the African plate and the Eurasian plate. The Pacific plate is the only major plate that is mainly underwater and is also the largest plate in the lithosphere. The Earth was once one large continental body called Pangea, before the plates started

Transform fault boundary - two plates slide horizontally pass each other F. Faults and Earthquakes 1. Fault - the fracture in rock across which there is movement 2. Fault zones - large expenses of the where movement has occurred, formed in the brittle upper lithosphere where two plates meet 3. Earthquakes - occurs when the rocks of the lithosphere rupture unexpectedly along a fault 4. Seismic activity – earthquake activity 5.

When collisions between plates occur, the crust is pushed up sometimes forming ranges of mountains. This is the way that most