Geography Notes (Unit 11)

Unit 11.1
 Pros of Volcanoes:
 Cools our Atmosphere Down: Sulfur is released when volcanoes erupt,
these particles stick to water vapor and float up, into our atmosphere to
cool it down
 Creates Land: When lava cools down it becomes obsidian, this obsidian
later cools down to create land
 Produces Water: Since when they erupt water vapor is released into the
atmosphere
 Makes Soil Fertile
 Minerals
 Geothermal energy
 Tourism

 Natural Hazards are natural threats that threatens to cause

damage and loss of life

 Natural Disasters are natural threats that have caused loss of life

 The Earth’s 4 Spheres are:

 Lithosphere (Solid Earth) (The only place where Earthquakes and Volcanoes
occur)
 Atmosphere (The Air)
 Hydrosphere (All Water)
 Biosphere (All Life)

Page 1
Unit 11.2
 Alfred Wegener’s Theory suggest that all of the continents we see
today was once a supercontinent Pangea

 This was as:

 Same animal & plant fossils and rock types on different continents
 The Ice Age happening at the same time across all continents
 Matching mountain ranges (mountain belts)

 Mid-Ocean Ridges are Mountain Ranges on the Ocean Floor

 Ocean Ridges are Mountains on the Ocean Floor
 Mountains are known as Ridges
 It was found out that the ocean was not flat during World War 2,
when the US Navy mapped it out

Unit 11.3
 Valleys (Depressions, Trenches) are low areas of land in between
mountains
 Trenches form due to activity in the mantle
 Mariana Trench is the deepest part on Earth that we know of

 Mountain Ranges (Mountain Belts) are long chains of mountains

 Tectonic Plates are large broken sections of the Lithosphere

(Crust)

Page 2

 Earthquakes and Volcanoes are all connected to mountain ranges

as they happen most along them
  This is due to “Tectonic Plate Boundaries (Faults)”

Unit 11.4
 There are 4 Layers of Earth these are:
 Crust (The Outer-most layer)
 Mantle
 Liquid Outer Core
 Solid Inner Core (Made of Solid Iron and Nickel)

 The 2 Types of Lithospheric Plates are:

 Oceanic Plates
 Continental Plates

 These plates are constantly moving and meet in various ways

along their edges

 The Lithosphere is made up of the Crust and Upper Mantle

Unit 11.5
 A Plate Boundary is the edge of a Tectonic Plate
 Destructive or Convergent Plate Boundaries occur when an
Oceanic Plate meets a Continental Plate or when 2 Continental
Plates meet

Page 3
 When an Oceanic and Continental Plate meets, the Oceanic Plate
goes beneath the Continental Plate which forms Mountain
Ranges, Trenches, Volcanoes and a Subduction Zone
  When 2 Continental Plates meet, they fracture and push upwards
which forms high mountain belts

 Constructive or Divergent Plate Boundaries occur when 2

Oceanic Plates meet
 When this happens, the plates are forced apart which lets Magma
rise and the hot rocks to melt, forming a ridge of volcanoes and a
new Oceanic Lithosphere

 Conservative or Transform Plate Boundaries occur when 2 Plates

slide past each other
 Due to friction, these plates can get stuck and when this happens,
they try to get unstuck causing Earthquakes

 The 2 Theories on why Tectonic Plates move are:

 Due to Convection Currents in the Mantle
 Due to Slab Pull and Ridge Push (Slab Pull occur when the weight of the slab
pulls the plate down, Ridge Push occurs when the mid-ocean ridge sinks
and spreads out)

 Convection Currents is a process by which heat is transferred up

and down in fluids
Unit 11.6
 Earthquakes are a sudden violent movement on the Earth’s
surface
Page 4
 This happens when 2 Plates slide past each other

 The Focus is the area where an earthquake begins deep

underground
 The Epicenter is the area above-ground above the focus
  The power of an earthquake reduces as you get further away
from its focus

 Seismic Waves are waves of energy caused by earthquakes

 Seismic Waves are measured in Magnitude (0-10)
Unit 11.7
 When an earthquake happens, you need to:
 Drop (Onto your hands and knees)
 Cover (Your Neck and Head)
 Hold On (Until the shaking stops)

 You are more likely to survive an Earthquake if you live in high

income countries as:
 There are strict building laws
 Buildings are earthquake resistant
 Controlled Urbanization
 More educated people

 The 3 types of Shocks in Earthquakes are:

 Foreshock (Before the Earthquake)
 Mainshock (The Earthquake)
 Aftershock (After the Earthquake)

 Aftershocks can happen as long as weeks after the mainshock

Page 5

Unit 11.8
 Volcanoes are opening/cracks in the earth’s lithosphere where
magma and gasses from inside the Earth escape from

 Magma can come out as:

 Flowing liquid lava (becomes Igneous Rocks when this solidifies)
 Volcanic Bombs
 Ash, Dust, Steam, Gas

 Pyroclastic flow is a fast-moving flowing of solidified lava pieces,

volcanic ash and hot gasses

 Types of Volcanoes:
 Composite/Stratovolcanoes
 Steep-sided, cone-shape, tall volcanoes
 Formed from layers of sticky (viscous) lava (that doesn’t flow far)

 Shield Volcanoes
 Gentle slopes, wide area
 Formed from runny lava and ash which piles up (that spreads far)

 Stages of Volcanoes:
 Active – Erupting now (or) may erupt soon (10,000 yrs)
 Dormant – can erupt again (10,000 yrs)
 Extinct – will not erupt anymore (1 million yrs)

 5 Countries in the world make up 90% of the global volcanic threat

 To stay safe from volcanoes you should:
 Prediction (P) – monitoring volcanoes
 Planning (P) - evacuating plans, warning systems
 Preparation (P) – educating people on volcanoes
Page 6