How Landforms Are How Landforms Are CreatedCreated

Plate TectonicsPlate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics

Large moving slabs of rock slide slowly over a layer of the mantle

The Theory of The Theory of Continental DriftContinental Drift

Earth ~200 million years ago

Alfred Wegener’s Evidence:

The presence of fossils only over small areas of now separate continents

3 Types of Plate Boundaries

1. Divergence2. Convergence3. Transformal

DIVERGENCEDIVERGENCE

DivergenceDivergence

Sea-Floor SpreadingSea-Floor Spreading

Process where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the

ridge

CONVERGENCECONVERGENCE

CONVERGENCE CONVERGENCE

Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, Himalayas

CONVERGENCE ZONECONVERGENCE ZONE

Shows the South American and Nazca plates colliding

TransformalTransformal

TransformalTransformalNo mountains are created

What are Hot Spots???What are Hot Spots???

• Hot mantle breaches the surface Hot mantle breaches the surface in the middle of a tectonic platein the middle of a tectonic plate

What are Hotspot Volcanoes?

The Hawaiian island chain are examples of hotspot volcanoes.

Pacific Ring of Fire

Has a major impact on countries that are close to it

Examples: Earthquakes, Volcanic Eruptions

Hawaii was formed by volcanic Hawaii was formed by volcanic activityactivity