Download Plate Tectonics - Canton Local Schools

Earth
Geology- study of solid earth
and processes by which it is
shaped and changed
Paleontology- study of
prehistoric life
Relative Dating
Superposition
Original horizontality
Lateral continuity
Superposition
Bottom layer of rock is older
than the layer on top
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Original Horizontality
Refers to waterways like rivers
Sediment particles settle to the
bottom of rivers and streams
and can cause horizontal layers
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Lateral Continuity
Layers of sediment extend in all
directions but can be
interrupted by geologic events
like new rivers or earthquakes
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Layers of the Earth
Earth’s CrustContinental- older, thicker, less
dense, granite
Oceanic- younger, thinner, more
dense, basalt
Faults- crack in the crust
Mantle2,900 km thick layer of molten
material between crust and core
on which the crustal plates float
Core2 layers
Inner- solid iron and nickel
Outer- molten iron, nickel, oxygen
Temp. = 2,000- 5,000 degrees
Celcius
Extremely dense- makes up 1/3
of earth’s mass
Plate Tectonics
Alfred Wegener- German
meteorologist, 1915 wrote The
Origin of Continents and Oceans
Pangaea- Greek mean “all lands”
Continental drift
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Theory of plate tectonics- how
these continents moved
Tectonics means construction
or building
Tectonic plates- giant pieces of
solid rock on earth’s surface
Movement of one plate causes
movement of others
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