Internal/External Forces

Unit 1: Basics of Geography

 Internal Forces
○ Tectonic plates: enormous moving pieces
that form the earth’s crust- continually
being reshaped
○ Earthquakes/Volcanoes
○ Move 1 of 4 ways:
○ Spreading
○ Subduction (dive under another plate)
○ Collision
○ Sliding past each other
 Internal Forces

○ 3 types of boundaries that mark

plate movements:
1. Divergent boundary- plates
move apart/spread (b/w Saudi
Arabia and Egypt)
2. Convergent boundary- plates
collide (India crashing into Asia)
3. Transform boundary- plates
slide apart (San Andreas Fault)
 Internal Forces
○ Folds/Faults- 2 plates meet- folding and
cracking of rock
-Occurs very slowly
-Sometimes rock not flexible, cracks
cause a fault
○ Earthquakes- Plates grind/slip past each
other, causing an earthquake
○ Seismograph detects earthquakes
○ Focus- where an earthquake begins
○ Epicenter- point directly above the focus
 Internal Forces
○ Landslides, displacement of land, fires
(broken gas lines) collapsed buildings
○ Aftershocks and smaller magnitude
earthquakes
○ Richter Scale- 2 usually not noticed; 4.5
makes the news
○ Major is 7 or more- Largest reported 8.9
Kermadec Islands, So. Pacific
 Internal Forces
○ Tsunami- Giant wave in ocean caused by an
earthquake up to 450 mph and 50-100 ft. waves
○ 2004 Tsunami hit Dec. 26 Indonesia, Thailand, Sri
Lanka, Somalia
○ Waves about 33 feet high
○ 4th largest in world since 1900….9+ more than
150,000 casualties
○ Volcanoes- Found along tectonic plate boundaries
-Magma, gases, and water from the lowest of
the crust collect in underground chambers
-Magma that reaches the earth’s surface is
called lava
 Internal Forces
□ Most dramatic volcano action-eruption-
hot lava, gases, ash, dust, rocks explode
out of vents in the earth’s crust (often a
hill or mountain is formed by lava
□ Volcanoes can be active for many years
than stop. Can be inactive and become
active.
□ Ring of Fire- Zone around the rim of the
Pacific Ocean- location of the vast
majority of active volcanoes
 Internal Forces

○ 8 major tectonic plates meet in

zone. Volcanic action and
earthquakes occur frequently.
○ Hot spots- Hot springs and geysers-
water heats up and rises to surface
○ Yellowstone- Old Faithful
 External Forces
○ Weathering- physical and chemical
processes that change the characteristics
of rock on or near the earth’s surface.
Occurs slowly.
○ Creates sediment- smaller and smaller
pieces of rock, mud, sand, or silt
○ Mechanical weathering- breaks rock into
smaller pieces (construction, drilling,
blasting, frost, plant roots
 External Forces
○ Chemical weathering- Decomposition
(break up) Rock is changed into a new
substance as a result of interaction b/w
elements in the air.
○ Erosion- Weathered material is moved by
the action of wind, water, ice or gravity.
Glaciers, waves, blowing winds cause
erosion; reshapes landforms
○ Water forms a delta (river enters ocean)
Waves form beaches
 External Forces
○ Wind- transports/deposits sediment- sand
dunes, rocks, loess (loh-uhs) are wind
blown silt/clay sediment
○ Glaciers- large, long lasting mass of ice;
cut valleys into the land; rocks left behind
may form a ridge or hill; may be tunnels
inside or under glacier
○ Soil- weathered rock, organic matter
(humus), air, and water
 External Forces
○ Soil factors: Determine type of vegetation
○ Parent material- chemical composition of
original rock
○ Relief- steeper slopes are eroded easily
and do not produce soil quickly
○ Organisms- help loosen soil/supply
nutrients
○ Climate- hot/cold wet/dry
○ Time- amount of time to produce soil
varies (avg 2.5 cc/century)