QUICK REVISION MODULE

(UPSC PRELIMS 2022) GEOGRAPHY

CONTINENTAL DRIFT
AND PLATE TECTONICS
 CONTINENTAL
DRIFT AND PLATE
TECTONICS

SUPERCONTINENT
A supercontinent is the assembly of most or all the Earth’s continental blocks
to form a single large landmass. A supercontinent cycle is the breakup of one
supercontinent and the development of another. Pangaea, last supercontinent.

Pangaea
The Asia
Supercontinent North
Panthalassa America
250 Million
Ocean Asia
Years Ago
North Europe Europe
Tethys Sea
America Panthalassa
om

Equator Ocean
l.c

Africa &
ai

Africa & Equator

gm

South Arabia
Arabia
@

America
South
25

America India
24
hi

India
os
kj

Panthalasa
hi

Ocean
us

Antarctica Australia
Australia
ka

Antarctica

CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY (ALFRED WEGNER

IN 1912)
All the continents formed a single continental mass (Pangaea), a mega ocean
(Panthalassa) surrounded by the same. Around 200 million years ago, the
Pangaea began to split. The initial two blocks – Gondwanaland and Laurasia –
started drifting away and in between a shallow sea emerged by filling up the
water from Panthalasa. It was known as Tethys Sea.

1
EVIDENCE

Evidences
Evidences

Rock of same Placer deposits Distribution of

age acros fossils
oceans

Tillite deposits Jigsaw fit

Jig-Saw fit - The shorelines of Africa and South America facing each other have
a remarkable and unmistakable match.

Rock of same age across ocean - The belt of ancient rocks of 2,000 million years
om
l.c

from Brazil coast matches with those from western Africa.

ai
gm
@
25

Placer deposit - The occurrence of rich placer deposits of gold in the Ghana coast
24
hi

and the gold bearing veins are in Brazil.

os
kj
hi
us
ka

Tillite - Tillite indicating extensive and prolonged glaciation.

Distribution of fossils - The observations that Lemurs occur in India, Madagascar

and Africa led some to consider a contiguous landmass “Lemuria” linking these
three landmasses.

FORCES FOR DRIFTING –

The polar-fleeing force relates to the rotation of the earth. This was, according to
Wegener, the cause for movement of continents towards equatorward.

Tidal force – due to the attraction of the Moon and the Sun was the main reason
given by Wegener for the westward movement of the Americas.

2
CONVECTION CURRENT THEORY
Ridge

Arthur Holmes put forward his PULL

” Lithosphere
B
Trench “SLA
theory of convection current in Trench

1928-29. Cause of the origin of these Ast

hen
osp
currents is the presence of Mantle her
e
radioactive elements which causes 700km

thermal differences in the mantle Outer Core

portion. Inner
Core

SEA FLOOR SPREADING THEORY –

ByThe
Harry Hess
ocean in 1961
crust rocks are much
younger than the continental rocks.

The sediments on the ocean floor

are unexpectedly very thin.
Convergent Mid-ocean ridge
boundary (divergent boundary)
Volcanoes Trench Trench

Continent

Mid-oceanic ridge was not found transform fault

only in Atlantic Ocean, but ridges Subducting

om

plate

were present in all the oceans.

l.c

Convection Currents in mantle

ai
gm
@

The rocks equidistant on either

25
24

sides of the crest of mid-oceanic Lithosphere

hi
os

Rising magma
ridges show remarkable similarities
kj
hi

x-x-x- Earthquake
us

in terms of period of formation,

ka

chemical compositions and

magnetic properties

PLATE TECTONICS –
Term plate was first used by Tuzo Wilson. Hypothesis of plate tectonics was first
outlined by W.J. Morgan in 1967.
There is spreading of sea floor and new oceanic crust is being continually
created at the active mid-oceanic ridges and destroyed at trenches.

3
The amount of crust consumed almost equals the amount of new crust created.

MAJOR AND MINOR PLATES –

90o 180o 0o

EURASIAN PLATE NORTH AMERICA

PLATE
Mid-Atiantic
Ridge
JUAN DE FUCA EURASIAN PLATE
Aleutian
PLATE
Trench
San Andreas Fault

AR PLA
PH LAT

AB TE
East Pacific CA
RI

IA
ILI E

PL BBE
P

Rise

N
AT AN
PP

COCOS E AFRICAN PLATE

INE

PACIFIC PLATE PLATE

CAROLINE
0o 0o
PLATE
Java Trench SOUTH AMERICA
INDO - AUSTRALIAN NAZCA PLATE
PLATE PLATE

SCOTIA
60o PLATE Divergent Boundary
0 2000 6000 Km
om

Convergent Boundary
Transform Boundary
l.c

ANTARCTIC PLATE
90o 180o 0o
ai
gm
@
25
24

TYPES OF BOUNDARIES –
hi
os
kj
hi
us
ka

Type of Margin Divergent Convergent Transform

Motion Spreading Subduction lateral Sliding

Constructive Destructive (oceanic lithosphere Conservative (lithosphere

Effect
(oceanic lithosphere created) destroyed) neither created or destroyed)

Topography Ridge/Rift Trench No major effect

Volcanic activity? Yes Yes No

Volcanoes
Ridge (voicanic arc) Trench
Earthquakes within crust

*
*
*
Lithosphere
*
Asthenosphere *
*
Earthquakes

4
TYPES OF CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES –
Oceanic-Oceanic convergence
Cooler, denser oceanic lithosphere

c
ch
sinks beneath the warmer, less

ar
en

nd
Tr

la
denseoceanic lithosphere. Oceanic crust

Is
Continental

water reduces the melting point of Lithosphere

crust

rocks in the asthenosphere and Lithosphere

causes partial melting Asthenosphere

Formation of volcanic Arcs.

Oceanic-Continent convergence

ch

Volcanice
Dense oceanic lithosphere subducts

en

arc
Tr
beneath the less dense continental Oceanic crust
lithosphere. Continental crust

Volcanic arcs form on continental Lithosphere

Lithosphere

lithosphere.
Accretionary wedge forms on the Asthenosphere

continental crust

Continent-Continent convergence
Both of them have a density that
e

au
ng
om

ra

Plate
ain
l.c

t
is much lower than the mantle, na
ai

u
Mo High
gm

which prevents subduction

@
25

Continental crust Continental crust

The intense compression can also
24
hi

cause extensive folding and

os

Lithosphere Lithosphere
kj
hi

faulting of rocks within the two

us
ka

Ancient oceanic crust Ancient oceanic crust

colliding plates

Exogenic forces – external forces caused by events occurring outside the earth
Endogenic forces – internal forces caused by events occurring inside the earth.

5
 FORCES WHICH AFFECT THE EARTH’S CRUST

Endogenetic Forces
Exogenetic Forces

Diastrophic Forces Sudden Forces

Epeirogenetic Orogenetic Volcanic Eruption Earthquakes

Forces Forces

Tensional Forces Compressional Forces

Faulting
Warping Folding

Diastrophic forces - Diastrophism refers to deformation of the Earth’s crust.

Diastrophic movements are gradual and might stretch for thousands of years.

Epeirogenic or continent forming movements are radial movements . They can

cause upliftment or subsidence of continents.
om
l.c
ai
gm

Orogenic or the mountain-forming movements act tangentially to the earth

@

surface. Folds are a result of ductile deformation of rocks in response to external

25
24

forces. Faulting is a process under which rocks are forcefully broken with
hi
os
kj

accompanying displacement.
hi
us
ka

DENUDATIONAL PROCESSES

PROCESS Mass Movements Erosion/

Weathering
Transportation

Gravitational/
DRIVING/
FORCE/ Molecular Stresses/ Gravitational Kinetic Energy
ENERGY and/or Chemical Force
Actions

6
Weathering – mechanical disintegration or chemical decomposition
of rocks in situ by different geomorphic agents.

Chemical Hydration - process by which certain types of mineral

Weathering expand as they take up water and expand, causing
additional stresses in the rock due to increase in the
volume of mineral itself.
Oxidation and reduction - oxidation is the addition of
oxygen to form oxides or hydroxides while reduction
is the reverse of oxidation.
Solution - few minerals such as rock salt are significant
y soluble in water. Such rock-forming minerals are
easily leached out without leaving any residue in rainy
climates and accumulate in dry regions.
Carbonation - many minerals are soluble in rainwater,
which contains carbon dioxide and acts as a weak
carbonic acid.

Physical Expansion by unloading – pressure release (unloading)

Weathering mechanism causes disintegration of rock. Process is
termed as exfoliation.
Thermal expansion of rock – is the cause of rock
om

cracking and disintegration.

l.c
ai
gm
@

Salt weathering – On drying and crystallization the salts

25
24

expand and set up a disruptive effect.

hi
os

Frost action and crystal growth – When water fills the

kj
hi
us

pores, cracks and crevices in rocks and then freezes, it

ka

expands and exerts a bursting pressure.

Biological Burrowing and wedging by organisms.

Weathering Decaying plant and animal matter help in the
production of humic, carbonic and other acids.
Tree roots can occasionally be shown to have forced
apart adjacent blocks of rock.

7
Mass movement - Mass movement or mass wasting is the term used for the
movement of material down a slope under the influence of gravity.

Factors favouring mass movement are: (i) weathering; (ii) rock composition;
(iii) texture and structure of material; (iv) slope gradient; (v) extent of
lubrication.

TYPES OF MASS MOVEMENT –

Slow movements –
Creep - slow downhill movement of debris and soil on moderate slope.
Solifluction- slow downslope flowing soil mass or fine grained rock debris
saturated or lubricated with water.
Rapid movement –
Earthflow – movement of water-saturated clayey or silty earth materials
down hillsides.
Mudflow – thick layers of weathered materials get saturated with water
and either slowly or rapidly flows down along definite channels.
Looks like a stream of mud.
Avalanche – Can be much faster than Mudflow

Landslides - Landslides occur when gravitational and other types of shear

om
l.c

stresses within a slope exceed the shear strength (resistance to shearing)

ai
gm

of the materials that form the slope.

@
25
24
hi
os
kj
hi

EROSION AND DEPOSITION –

us
ka

Erosion is a term referring to those processes of Denudation which wear away

the land surface by the mechanical action of the debris which is being acquired
and transported by various agents of erosion. Deposition is a consequence of
erosion. The erosional agents loose their velocity and hence energy on gentler
slopes and the materials carried by them start to settle themselves.