Download Plate tectonics, continental drift, plate boundaries

Tectonic plates, Continental
drift, Plate boundaries,
Earthquakes and
and Volcanoes.
Ian Weiler
Earthquakes
Earthquakes happen when two continental plates slip
past or hit each other creating a quake. The plates are
colliding. When the plates are hitting each other, they
build up tremendous tension that is released causing an
Earthquake. Earthquakes are located near plate
boundaries because of the colliding of plates. A
transform boundary is related with Earthquakes because
a transform boundary is when the plates slip past and hit
each other when sideways. That boundary is what
causes an Earthquake. During Earthquakes faults (big
cracks in the crust) occur because of the pressure of the
moving crust. A great amount of Earthquakes happen a
year, though only the big ones are considered disasters.
San Francisco Earthquake
(1906)
Volcanoes
Volcanoes and Earthquakes have lots in common. A big
reason they are is that they are both located at plate
boundaries. A divergent boundary is related with
Volcanoes. A volcano occurs when two plates drift apart
from each other. When this happens, there is a crack left in
the crust. (A fault). That crack in the crust leads down to the
magma chamber, that is in the crust. The magma chamber
then leads down to the mantle that sits below the crust.
That creates a volcano. There are volcanoes under the sea
as well as on land. The big Earthquake that causes the
most damage, is called the main shock. The Earthquake\s
that follow after are called aftershocks.
Plate Boundaries
A plate boundary is the boundary between two continental
plates. These continental plates are always moving very
slowly in one direction. There are three kinds of plates
boundaries that separate one from another and clarify
where they are moving in direction from one another. The
three kinds of plate boundaries are Convergent, Divergent,
and Transform. A Convergent boundary is when the plates
are drifting together or pulling together. These make
mountains because when they hit each other they crush
and move up. A Convergent boundary is when the plates
are drifting apart from each other. This makes mountains. A
Divergent boundary id when the plates are pulling apart
from each other. This makes Volcanoes. A Transform
boundary is when the plates are hitting each other while
side sweeping. This makes Earthquakes.
Tectonic plates\Continental
Drift
Alfred Wegner’s theory
If you look at all the seven continents (North America,
South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and
Antarctica) they all seem to fit into each other like a jigsaw
puzzle. Alfred Wegner was the first to discover this theory
in the mid to late 1800’s. His theory that many people did
not acknowledge when he told it at first, was described that
a long time ago the continents were all one big one named
Pangaea. These continents over a long period of time soon
drifted apart to to make the seven continents we have
today. Over the course of time, many people started
realizing that Wagner's theory made a lot of sense and
appreciated his idea. Each continent is sitting on a tectonic
plate that slowly drifts away.
The Sources
Earthquake.usgs.gov/
www.enchantedlearning.com/www.edupl
ace.com/
www.scholastic.com/teachers/