Download Topic: Plate Tectonics

Topic: Plate Tectonics
EQ: What effects do tectonic plates have on Earth’s surface?
Plate Tectonics
● Plate Tectonics is the theory that Earth’s surface slips and
slides between two layers of the Earth.
● The two layers are the lithosphere and the asthenosphere.
Plate Boundaries
What do you
notice about
plate tectonics
around
Michigan?
Divergent Boundaries
● Divergent Boundaries occur when plates move away from each other.
● There are not many places like this on Earth EXCEPT for the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
(seafloor spreading)
Convergent Boundaries
● The opposite of divergent,
convergent boundaries are
plates that move towards
each other.
● When two plates move
towards each other the
denser plate slides
underneath the other.
● In this case volcanoes can
form.
Convergent Boundaries
● But what if one plate is not denser than the other?
● The plates collide pushing the Earth’s crust into the sky!
We call these mountains.
Transform Boundaries
●
●
●
Finally we have transform boundaries.
Sometimes plates lock, not wanting to move anywhere.
But eventually something has to give. The plates slip past each other creating
huge amounts of energy, this creates earthquakes.
Can you think of
some places on
Earth where
these
boundaries
appear?
Think About It...
Create a double bubble diagram to
compare and contrast divergent
boundaries and convergent boundaries.