Plate tectonics, earthquakes and

volcanoes
 Getting started
You’ll need a notepad on which to make notes as you go along, or
you could make notes, paste images, etc. on your device.

You can view these slides:

• as a slide-show for any animations and to follow links
• in ‘normal’ view if you want to add call-outs or extra slides to
make notes, paste images, answer questions.

In this GEO unit you’ll learn about plate tectonics and how they
relate to earthquakes and volcanoes: topics that feature in many
(but not all) GCSE courses.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 The theory of plate tectonics
• The surface of Earth is broken up into
large plates called tectonic plates.
• They are formed from Earth’s rigid
outer shell: the lithosphere. This is
made up of crust and the uppermost
part of the mantle.
• These two parts of the lithosphere are
chemically different, but both are
brittle and rigid.
Activities
Click on the map, then:
1.Name the seven major plates shown on the map.
2.Read the notes from the link.
3.Describe and explain what a tectonic plate is.
4. Explain why it is important to understand the chemical composition
and the mechanical properties of the lithosphere.
© Geographical Association, 2021
 What is the structure of the Earth really like?
Activities
1. Click on this link and watch
the video exploring the
layered structure of Earth.
2. Describe the characteristics
of these different layers:
• solid inner core
• liquid outer core
• mantle (mesosphere,
asthenosphere and
lithosphere)
• crust.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Understanding the lithosphere
• The Earth's tectonic plates are formed from Activities
the lithosphere. 1. Click on the linked
• The lithosphere is made up of the crust and diagram below, then copy
the uppermost part of the upper mantle. or take a screen grab of
• The boundary between the lithosphere and the diagram of Earth's
asthenosphere is marked by the cooler, rigid lithosphere and upper
lithosphere and the warmer, ductile mantle.
asthenosphere.  2. Describe and explain the
• The crust is a thin layer that sits on the lithosphere.
upper mantle. 3. Try this quizlet test.
• The two types of crust differ in their
composition and thickness:
o continental crust is typically 40 km thick;
it is lighter than oceanic crust
o oceanic crust is heavier and thinner, about
6 km thick.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Are plates, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
linked?
Earthquakes and volcanoes are not distributed Activities
randomly, and most occur in distinct narrow 1. Click on this link and explore
the relationship between
belts. This map of earthquakes in 2017 shows
earthquakes, volcanoes and
linear patterns along the plate boundaries. plate boundaries.
2. Study each layer of the
interactive separately, then:
• Combine the various layers.
• Describe the relationships
across the different layers.
3. What anomalies do you
notice?

© Geographical Association, 2021

 What is happening at the plate margins?
• Each plate is in motion
relative to its neighbours:
that causes the geological
activity we have noticed at
the plate boundaries.
• It is also possible, though less
common, for geological
activity to take place in the
middle of plates, for
example: the Canary Islands
and Hawaii.
Resource: explore the different
layers in the
Earthquakes and Volcanoes Interac
tive
website.
© Geographical Association, 2021
Activities
1. Click on the
Geological Society website and
explore the three types of
plate boundaries: divergent,
convergent and conservative.
The Volcano Discovery site is
also useful.
2. Make brief notes, describing
each type of boundary.
Next, you will explore each
boundary in more detail, and find
out what is causing the plates to
move.
 What happens at convergent margins?
Activities
1. Click on the linked diagram (left)
and watch the Earth Learning Idea
video – you could take one or more
screen grabs of the diagram/s. Then
use the diagram and video to:
• describe what a convergent
boundary (or margin) is
• explain what happens at the three
different types of convergent
margin.
2. What type of volcano generally
occurs at a convergent margin?

© Geographical Association, 2021

 What happens at divergent margins?
Activities
1. Watch this Time for Geography
video and see how energy from deep
within Earth drives the plates apart.
2. Explain what happens at this type of
boundary using the terms below:
• low viscosity, effusive eruption
• shield volcano, rift valleys
• VEI, basalt
• phreatomagmatic eruptions.
3. How is the lava at a divergent margin
different from the lava at a
destructive margin?

© Geographical Association, 2021

 What happens at conservative margins (also
called transform boundaries)?
Activities
1. Watch this Time for Geography video and explore
what happens when two tectonic plates move past
each other side by side, in the example from Iceland.
Explain this, using the terms stress, fault, fracture and
bookshelf faulting.
2. Why do volcanoes not occur at this type of margin?

The San Andreas Fault is the most famous example of a NASA image of the
conservative (or transform) boundary. San Andreas Fault in
3. Go to the USGS website here. Find and screen grab the San Francisco
the cartoon sketch map and use it to decide which Bay area, just west of
direction the plates are moving in the photo to the San Mateo and
left. Foster City. The fault
4. Look carefully at the image on the next slide. How runs diagonally from
close to the fault are the buildings? upper left to
lower right.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Enlarged image of the San Andreas Fault
A high-res copy of the Foster City
San Andreas
image is available here. The Fault line
residential
data are all telling us that areas pink
and green
some sections of the San
Andreas Fault appear to be
‘overdue’ for a significant
earthquake, but we do not
Motion of North
understand earthquakes American Plate
well enough to know
exactly where or when the Motion of
next one will occur, and Pacific Plate
what its magnitude will be.
Watch this space!

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Alternative terms
• The zone between two plates sliding
horizontally past one another is
generally called a transform-fault
boundary, or a transform boundary. It
is sometimes called a conservative
boundary.
• A convergent boundary is sometimes
called a destructive boundary. But we
now know that slabs of lithosphere
may exist in the mantle for many
millions of years, so ‘destructive’ is
misleading. The San Andreas Fault is a
transform boundary
• A divergent boundary or divergent
connecting the spreading
plate boundary is also known as a ridge in the Gulf of
constructive boundary. California with the one off
the north-west USA.
© Geographical Association, 2021
 What causes the plates to move?
The mechanisms that cause tectonic plates to move is still being
investigated by geo-scientists, who are constantly making new
discoveries. Recent work indicates that the theory that convection
cells in the mantle cause the plate movement is not now accepted
(although you will still find it in textbooks).
Activities
1. Click on the linked diagram (left), find and
copy the diagram or take a screen grab.
2. Describe and explain the three forces that
are proposed as the main drivers of plate
movement.
3. Explain why convection currents are now
largely discounted as a cause of plate
movement.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 So, are the continents fixed in place?

Click on the link to view this ESRI animation. It shows tectonic plate
movement and the changing geography of the oceans and continents back
to 540 million years ago (the Cambrian–Precambrian Period).

Activity
In which geological period did the continental shapes we recognise first
appear?
© Geographical Association, 2021
 Are all volcanoes the same?
In general, divergent plate boundaries and hot spots produce very different
lava and eruptions from those produced by convergent plate boundaries.
They also produce different-shaped volcanoes. We want to find out why.
A B

Activities
1. Go to the next slide. Click on the table and download it so you can
complete the table as you watch the video.
2. Click on this link to the video.
3. You may wish to screen grab images or diagrams to illustrate your
answers.
4. When you have completed the table, explain why the combination of
ice and lava can create explosive eruptions.
© Geographical Association, 2021
 Table for the Time for Geography video
Type of Viscosity – Name Colour Lab Type of Location Name and Named Classify the
eruption high or low of lava experiment eruption Convergent shape of example volcanoes in
results on or divergent volcano the photos
High-viscous release of boundary on Slide 15:
liquids are thick gases when which is A or
and flow less samples are B?
easily heated
Effusive –                  
lava flows
gently

Explosive                  
– gases in
the lava
build up
and cause
violent
eruptions

Click here to download a copy of the table.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Case study: Eyjafjallajökull, Iceland 2010

Activity
Click on this Time for Geography video
about Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland. Make
notes from the video on:
• potential problems for people in
Iceland when an eruption occurs
• ways in which the volcano is
monitored from the National Centre
using scientific knowledge and
devices such as seismometers and
GPS antennae.

Eyjafjallajökull and Katla are just two of a number of Iceland’s

volcanoes that are heavily monitored. Although lava flows are
generally quite slow, there are potential problems from ash clouds
and flooding if a volcano erupts under a glacier or ice sheet.
© Geographical Association, 2021
 Case study: Italy’s volcanoes
Italy lies where the African Plate 2. What are the benefits associated with
subducts under the Eurasian
Plate. This produces a number of
volcanoes such as Mount
Vesuvius (above) and Mount
Etna.
© Geographical Association, 2021
Activities
• Click on this Time for Geography video on
Italy’s volcanoes.
• There is a map of volcanoes and plate
boundaries here.
1. Describe the specific challenges people
living near volcanoes face and explain
why they accept the risks of living with
natural hazards.
volcanic activity for people living in the
area?
3. How are the volcanoes monitored and
managed?
 Challenge activities 1
Activities
• Click here to launch the
Geology.com site: ‘Plate
Tectonics and the Hawaiian
Hot Spot’.
• Explain how some volcanoes,
such as Mauna Kea on the
island of Hawaii (left), occur so
far away from plate
boundaries. You might select
maps and diagrams to support
your explanation.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Challenge activities 2
Resource
Open Google Earth.
Click the link below
to the USGS site for
plate boundaries
Click to download
the .KMZ file: it will
open in Google
Earth – explore the
plate boundaries,
then home in on Activities
Iceland. 1. Study the different plate boundaries in
Repeat to find Iceland and the distribution of the volcanoes.
volcanoes of the wo 2. Link this to the Time for Geography video on
rld Eyjafjallajökull.
.
© Geographical Association, 2021
 Challenge activities 3
Use ArcGIS to
investigate how
the properties of
volcanoes are
influenced by
the crust and
plate boundaries
nearest to them.

Activities
1. Download the enquiry instructions here.
2. Open the ArcGIS enquiry from here.
3. Complete the GIS activities from the enquiry sheet – this should
take 15 minutes.

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Links
From the awarding bodies Find out more
Topic • Time for Geography
AQA Spec A; Unit 1: Physical produce a range of videos
geography: Restless Earth
that are useful for this
Edexcel Topic1 Hazardous Earth topic.
B • The Earth Learning Idea
Eduqas Changing Physical and Human website also provides a
A Landscapes; 3 Tectonic
Landscapes and Hazards range of videos and notes
to help you find out more.
OCR B Topic One, Global Hazards 1.2
How do plate tectonics shape our
world?
CCEA Theme D: The Restless Earth

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Glossary 1
• Anomaly: something that is different from what is expected; an outlier in some data
• Composite cones: volcanoes resulting from alternating types of eruption, in which first
ash and then lava are ejected. Mount Etna is an example of this
• Conservative boundary: two plates sliding past each other (also called a transform
boundary)
• Convergent boundary: where material is destroyed as one plate dives under another
• Divergent boundary: when two tectonic plates move away from each other
• Ductile: easily bent or stretched: ductile rocks can change shape without breaking
• Fissure vent: a fissure is a long, narrow opening or fracture line. In a fissure eruption,
two plates move apart and lava may be ejected through fissures rather than via a
central vent
• Mid-oceanic ridge: a continuous range of undersea volcanic mountains, formed as a
result of plate tectonic processes
• Mountain belt: a linear mountain range formed by a combination of tectonic processes
including faulting and folding
• Phreatomagmatic: volcanic eruptions caused by the interaction between magma and
water
• Plate tectonics: Earth's outermost layer is broken into a dozen or more large and some
small plates that are moving relative to one another

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Glossary 2
• Pyroclastic flow: a fast-moving, avalanche-like mixture of hot volcanic rocks, ash, and
gases that can travel up to 150 km per hour
• Shield volcano: a volcanic cone with long gentle sides, made up of many layers of lava
from repeated flows. An example is Mauna Loa on Hawaii
• Slab pull: at a subduction boundary, one plate is denser and heavier than the other. The
denser, heavier plate begins to subduct beneath the plate that is less dense. The edge of
the subducting plate is much colder and pulls the rest of the plate along with it. The force
that the sinking edge of the plate exerts on the rest of the plate is called slab pull
• Subduction: as an oceanic plate moves towards a continental plate, it sinks beneath the
continental plate because it is heavier, forming deep sea trenches and island arcs with
volcanoes
• Tectonic plates: large-scale features on Earth’s surface. They are huge, rigid blocks,
generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere
• Transform boundary: two plates sliding past each other (also called conservative
boundary)
• Volcanism: a wide range of processes associated with molten rock, gas, ash etc., expelled
at Earth’s surface
• Volcanic ‘hot spot’: an area in the mantle located away from plate boundaries, where heat
rises as a thermal plume from deep inside Earth

© Geographical Association, 2021

 Acknowledgements
This presentation has been written by John Lyon.
Figures
• Slide 3: Map © Geographical Association
• Slide 4: Diagram © USGS
• Slide 5: Diagram © Britannica
• Slide 6: Map © Geographical Association
• Slide 8: Diagram © Earth Learning Idea
• Slides 10/11: Radar images © NASA
• Slide 12: Map source: Wikimedia
• Slide 13: Diagram source: Earth Learning Idea
• Slide 14: Image still © ESRI
• Slide 15: Image stills © Time for Geography
• Slide 18: Photo source: Wikimedia
• Slide 19: Photo source: Wikimedia
• Slide 20: Satellite image © Google Earth
• Slide 21: Image source: ESRI ArcGIS
© Geographical Association, 2021