Plate Tectonics Notes

What is a Plate?

A large chunk of crust (and upper Mantle)

What is a Fault?

A crack in a plate

What is a Plate Boundary?

The place where two or more plates meet

What are the three types of Plate Motion?

Convergent, Divergent, and Transform

What are convergent boundaries?

Where two tectonic plates come together

• Oceanic → ← Continental

• Oceanic → ← Oceanic

• Continental → ← Continental

What happens when:

Oceanic →← Continental

• subduction zone

• oceanic trenches

• volcanoes on land

• earthquake

Where can Oceanic →← Continental be found?

Cascades (Oregon and California), Andes Mountains

What happens when:

Oceanic →← Oceanic

• subduction zone

• oceanic trenches

• volcanic island arcs

• earthquakes

Where can Oceanic →← Oceanic be found?

Japan and The Philippine Islands

What happens when:

Continental →← Continental

• mountains

• earthquakes

Where can Continental →← Continental be found?

Appalachian and The Himalaya Mountains

What are divergent boundaries?

where two tectonic plates pull apart

• Sea Floor Spreading

• Continental Rift

What happens when:

Oceanic←→ Oceanic

• mid-ocean ridges

• volcanic / vents

• mid-atlantic ridge

• earthquakes

What happens when:

Continental←→ Continental

• rift valley

• baby sea

• volcanoes

• earthquakes

What are transform boundaries?

where two tectonic plates grind past each other.

What happens during transform boundaries?

• earthquakes

Where can transform boundaries be located?

San Andreas Fault

Will California ever separate from the United States?

No, they will not pull apart because the plates will just slide.