Causes of

Plate
Movements
 OBJECTIVES
1. Define plate
movements; and
2. Give examples of
plate movements.
Plate Movements -
- is a scientific theory describing the
large- scale motion of seven large plates
and the movements of a larger number
of smaller plates of the Earth’s
lithosphere.

Earth’s tectonic plates move slowly at

few centimeters yearly
Plate Boundaries are located at the
very edge of the lithospheric plates

Causes of Plate Movements

 intense heat in the Earth's core that causes molten
rock in the mantle layer to move
Convection Cell - pattern in which plate moves
that forms when warm material rises, cools, and
eventually sinks down.
 Main Factors in the Movement
of Plate Tectonics

1. Gravitational force at the spreading

ridges
2. Subduction zones
Thermal Convection - force that causes
most of the plate movements where heat
from the Earth's interior causes currents
of hot rising magma and cooler sinking
magma to flow, moving the plates of the
crust along with them.
In ridge push and slab pull - gravity is acting
on the plate to cause the movement.
Examples of Plate Movements

East African Rift

Mid-ocean ridges where two ocean
plates moved apart that can be seen
in some regions near the Azores and
Iceland