PLATE TECTONICS

GEOLOGY
- Studies the structure of the earth origin
and development.
MAJOR LAYERS OF THE EARTH
CRUST
- The thinnest and outermost part/layer of
the earth that is brittle and rocky.
- It is made of low mass elements such as
silicone, oxygen, and made of variety of
solid rocks like sedimentary,
metamorphic, and igneous rocks.
- The least dense layer of the geosphere
with an average density of 28g/cm^3
and thickness that ranges from 5-50km.
MANTLE
LITHOSPHERE
- It is also known as the tectonic plate of
crustal plate.
- It consists of the layers of the crust and
the upper part of the mantle (continental
and oceanic crust).
- The thickness is about 50-100km and
these lithospheric plates move relative to
each other.
- The entire lithosphere of the earth is
broken into numerous segments called
plates.
KINDS OF CRUST
CONTINENTAL CRUST
- It is four times thicker than the oceanic
crust but less dense (35-40km). It is
made of granite and are located on land.

- It is the thickest middle layer beneath

the crust.
OCEANIC CRUST
- This extends about 2900km from the
earth’s surface, and it makes up about - These are crusts under oceans and are
80% of the earth’s total volume and 68% made of Fe, Mg, and basalt. It is
of its total mass. relatively thinner but denser than the
- It is mainly made of silicate and molten continental crust (7-10km).
rocks.

CORE
- It is a dense metallic center of earth that
is made of mostly Fe with small
amounts of Ni and other elements.
- It is subdivided into two layers, the
liquid outer core and solid inner core.
- Inner Core is a dense ball of solid iron
crystals and nickel. It has a radius of
1300km.
- Outer Core is liquid that is made up of
molten iron and nickel. It is 2900km
below the earths surface and is 2250km
thick.
7 LARGE PLATES

 Eurasian Plate S-WAVES

 Pacific Plate
- Elastic waves or secondary waves are
 Antarctic Plate two main types of elastic body waves.
 Australian Plate They move through the body of an
 North American Plate object.
 South American Plate
 African Plate E
PI
C
E
SEVERAL SMALLER PLATES
N
 Philippine Plate T
 Arabian Plate E
 Indian Plate R
 Cocos Plate
 Nazca Plate
 Scotia Plate
 Juan De Fuca Plate
 Caribbean Plate

A theory of moving lithospheric or tectonic

plates produce earthquakes, mountains, and
volcanoes.

EARTHQUAKE
- A seismic event caused by the sudden
release of energy stored in the earth’s
crust. The explosion causes vibration
which can emit up to several meters of
displacement and it releases the heat the
warms the surrounding areas.

P-WAVE
- It travels faster than other seismic waves
and hence, are the first signal from an
earthquake to arrive at any affected
location or at a seismograph. P-waves
may be transmitted through gases,
liquids, or solids.
 - The part of the earth’s surface directly
above the focus of an earthquake.
HYPOCENTER
- The focus of the earthquake/point of
origin of the earthquake.
SEISMOLOGY
- The study of earthquakes and seismic
waves that move through around the
earth.
SEISMOGRAPH
- Used to record the motion of the ground
during an earthquake.
SEISMOGRAM
- Determines the location and magnitude
of earthquakes.
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
There are three distinct types of plate
boundaries, which are differentiated by the type
of movement they exhibit.
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY <- ->
- Two plates are moving away from each
other, creating a zone of tension.
- Most divergent boundaries are situated
along underwater mountain ranges
called oceanic ridges.
- As the plate separates, hot materials or
magma ooze up
- An example of a mid-ocean ridge is the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Atlantic Ocean
is also the 2nd largest ocean.
In
continental crusts, it produces a Rift Valley. The
crust breaks down that form a down faulted
valley.
EXAMPLES OF DIVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 Antarctic Plate and Australian Plate
 South American Plate and African Plate
 North American Plate and Eurasian
Plate
 Pacific Plate and Antarctic Plate
 Pacific Plate and Nazca Plate
The Mariana Trench is the deepest oceanic
trench on Earth. It is in the western Pacific
Ocean.
Red Sea is formed by Arabia splitting from
Africa due to continental drift. The sea is still
widening, and it is considered that the sea will
come an ocean in time. The Red Sea started with
just a narrow strip of water.
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY -> <-
 - Two plates are moving towards each
other creating a collision zone where
the plates collide.
- Converge mean to meet or collide.
- The Lithosphere at one plate subducts
beneath the second plate and melt,
then becoming part of the mantle.
Subduction is the bending of the crust towards
the mantle and melts forming magma. Subducts
means to go down because it is heavier or
denser than the other. It creates volcanoes,
trenches, mountains, and earthquakes.
One of the results of the convergence or
collision of two oceanic plates is the formation
of the Philippine Archipelago. The Philippine
Archipelago is a oceanic-oceanic plate.
EXAMPLES OF CONVERGENT PLATE
BOUNDARIES
 Philippine Plate and Eurasian Plate
 Nazca Plate and South American Plate
 South American and Antarctic Plate
 Pacific Plate and Australian Plate
TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARY
- Two plates slide or grind past each
other without diverging or converging.
- The fracture zone that forms a
transform plate boundary is known as a
transform fault.
- Most transform faults are found in the
ocean basin.
Conservative Type is the lithosphere that is
neither created nor destroyed. Instead, rocks
are displaced along the shearing zone.
Shear Zone are shallow earthquakes that
happen. Frequently, massive rocks are torn
apart and displaced tens to hundred miles away
along this area.
TYPES OF TRANSFORM PLATE
BOUNDARIES
OCEANIC TRANSFORM FAULT
BOUNDARY
- Most of the transform fault boundaries
occur at the ocean basins.
- The Caribbean Plate is sliding East-
Northeast about 0.8 inches (2cm) per
year relative to the North American
Plate.
- Virgin Islands National Park is a
sheared-up landscape forming as the
Caribbean Plate sides eastward past the
oceanic part of the North American
Plate.
CONTINENTAL TRANSFORM FAULT
BOUNDARY
- There are only a few gliding continental-
continental boundaries.
- When continental-continental transform
fault boundaries happen, earthquakes
occur frequently and may result to the
formation of fault along the linear or
narrow valley like the San Andreas
Fault of California which has been
formed due to the gliding plates of
Pacific and North American.
- The Pacific Plate carries little
continental crust.
San Andreas Fault is known as the Big One
and it is 10 miles deep and ¼ mile wide. It
was responsible not only for destructive
earthquakes, but also for the spectacular
scenery of the San Francisco Bay Area and
other coastal regions of California.
 The Alpine Fault is a transform boundary
between the Pacific Plate and the Indo-
Australian Plate.

RESULT OF TRANSFORM FAULT

BOUNDARIES

 Shallow earthquakes
 No magma
 No volcanoes
 No rift valleys
 Narrow linear fault at earth’s surface
Unlike the depictions in some movies,
movement along transform plate boundary
doesn’t generate a gap or chasm at the earth’s
surface.

INTRAPLATE
THE EARTH’S MECHANISM
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
- In 1912, Alfred Wegener, a German
meteorologist, proposed a theory that
about 200 million years ago, the
continents were once a large landmass.
He called this landmass Pangea, a
Greek word which means all earth.
- This Pangea started to break into two
small supercontinents called Laurasia
and Gondwanaland during the Jurassic
Period. These smaller supercontinents
broke into the continents and these
continents separated and drifted apart
since then.
- Wegener searched for evidence to
support his claim. He noticed the fit of
the edges of the continents on the
opposite sides of the South Atlantic. His
evidence to the Continental Drift Theory
includes the distribution of fossils in
different continents, rock features, and
ancient climates.
EVIDENCE
THE CONTINENTAL JIGSAW PUZZLE
- The most visible and fascinating
evidence that these continents were once
on is their shapes. The edge of one
continent surprisingly matches the edge
of another; South America and Africa fit
together; India, Antarctica, and Australia
match one another; Eurasia and North
America complete the whole continental
puzzle in the north.
These fossils were in the continents of
Southern Africa, Australia, India, and
Antarctica, which are now separated
from each other by wide oceans. The
large seeds of this plant could not
possibly travel a long journey by the
wind or survive a rough ride through
ocean waves.
- Mesosaurus and Lystrosaurus are
freshwater reptiles. Fossils of these
animals were discovered in different
continents, such as in South America
and Africa. It is impossible for these
reptiles to swim over the vast oceans
and move from another to one continent.
Fossils were also found in Antarctica.
ROCKS
- Fossils found in rocks support the
Continental Drift Theory. The rocks
themselves also provide evidence that
continents drifted apart from each other.
- Africa fit South America. Rock
formations in Africa line up with that in
South America as if it was a long
mountain range. The folded cape
mountains of South America and Africa
line up perfectly like there were one a
long mountain range.

FOSSILS
- Fossils are preserved remains or traces
of organisms (plants & animals) from
the remote past.
- Fossilized leaves of a Glossopteris were
found in 250 million years old rocks.