ANSWER KEY TECTONIC PLATES PUZZLE Looking at the map, what do you see that could have led observers such as Alfred Wegener to hypothesize that the continents have moved? Simple Answer: Some of the continents look like they could fit together. Additional Information: The most obvious are South America and Africa. Wegener had other evidence as well including fossils, rock formations, and coal deposits, but they are not shown on this puzzle. Look for the small arrows found throughout the map. The arrows show that tectonic plates are ___ not moving. _x_ in motion. ___ completely covered by water. Do you see any tectonic plates that are almost entirely covered by water? These are oceanic plates. There are several oceanic plates. List two of Earth’s oceanic plates. The Pacific Plate, the Phillipines Plate, the Cocos Plate, the Caribbean Plate, the Scotia Plate, and the Nazca Plate are all mostly covered by water. There are others that are covered by a lot of water as well such as the Australian Plate. List three pairs of plates that are moving apart from one another. These are called divergent boundaries. Pacific Plate and Antarctic Plate Pacific Plate and Nazca Plate Eurasian Plate and North American Plate African Plate and South American Plate African Plate and Antarctic Plate Australian Plate and Antarctic Plate Pacific Plate and North American Plate (actually a transform boundary) List two places where you can find subduction zones. They are marked by a line that looks like this: Edge of South American Plate Edge of Juan de Fuca Plate Edge of Cocos Plate Around Pacific Plate All around the Phillipines Plate Edge of the Eurasian Plate What observations can you make about where subduction zones are found? Simple Answer: Subduction zones are found around the edges of some plates. Additional observations: They are found along convergent boundaries, or places where continents collide. Specifically, they are often found where oceanic plates collide with continents. They are also found in close proximity to many volcanoes. What relationship do you observe between the location of volcanoes and the tectonic plates? Simple Answer: Volcanoes are often found at the edges of tectonic plates. Additional Information: Volcanoes are often found along subduction zones, areas where oceanic plates collide with continents. Some volcanoes can also be found at divergent boundaries, such as along the Mid‐Atlanic Ridge. Volcanoes can also sometimes be found in the middle of tectonic plates, away from the edges. These are called hot spot volcanoes. Extra! Use a map that shows geologic features to find and label the following: RING OF FIRE ALEUTIAN TRENCH PERU‐CHILE TRENCH MID‐ATLANTIC RIDGE HAWAIIAN HOT SPOT JAVA TRENCH MARIANAS TRENCH SAN ANDREAS FAULT JAPAN TRENCH 3 8 JAVA TRENCH RI NG OF FI RE MARIANAS TRENCH PACIFIC PLATE COCOS PLATE NORTH AMERICAN PLATE PLATE ANARCTICA PLATE SCOTIA PLATE SOUTH AMERICAN PLATE CARIBBEAN NAZCA PLATE PERU CHILE TRENCH JAPAN TRENCH SAN ANDREAS FAULT HAWAIIAN HOT SPOT AUSTRALIAN PLATE PHILLIPINE PLATE EURASIAN PLATE ALEUTIAN TRENCH JDF ARABIAN PLATE MID ATLANTIC RIDGE AFRICAN PLATE INDIAN PLATE AUSTRALIAN PLATE EURASIAN PLATE
