Plate Tectonics Map Project
DUE DATE TBA
Your Goal:
Create your own fictional world complete with continents, oceans, tectonic plates,
mountains, earthquakes, volcanoes, and other evidence of a dynamic earth. Your world
will have its own fictional history that explains the locations of these detailed features.
You will create a Mercator Projection Map (rectangular map of a spherical planet like the
one above) that illustrates all of the features of your world. Your map must be large
(something like poster board size will do) and you will be graded highly on creativity and
effort. Maps can be 2-dimensional or 3-dimensional.
Step One:
Begin brainstorming what your world is going to look like. Create a small "sketch" map
as a rough draft.
Decide what the major continents (at least 7) are and name them. You'll choose
continental margins (shapes) that reflect on a long geologic past of plate movements,
collisions, and changes. The location of the continents should also start to tell a story of
the past. [Think about Pangea  Gondwanaland + Laurasia  modern continents.] In
your sketches, include two prior dates in which your continents were in a very different
location (again, think about Pangea, Gondwanaland, and Laurasia) so that we can see the
history of your planet! Select dates for these maps of the past.
Depending on where your continents are choose oceans and name them. Once you have
these drawn out in a sketch add plate margins and name the tectonic plates that are
created by where you place your boundaries. Remember that you can have oceanicoceanic, oceanic-continental, and continental-continental boundaries. In other words
the "lines" of your plates can go anywhere on the map, through continents and/or oceans.
You'll address what features you'd find across your world later on.
Start to think about where divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries will be
located. For example if you have two continents that "fit together," once were joined,
and are now moving away from one another you'll place a divergent boundary between
them. This is important especially for the large tectonic plates on your map. You may
have to make changes to your world if you find inconsistencies. Use a pencil!
Continue to add details to the rough draft sketch that you've now created. Your rough
draft will be checked for part of your project grade.
Checklist #1:
____ Continents (at least 7)
____ Continental margins/borders (shapes)
- locations must tell a story
- include sketches of two additional dates in the past where the continents were in
different locations
____ Oceans
____ Tectonic Plates (at least 12)
Step Two:
Start marking divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries on your map.
Reference Global Map of Plate Boundaries on the Wiki to help you. Remember that
different sides of a single plate could be moving in several different directions. Look at
the Pacific Plate for example. Your world is one giant puzzle and your plates are puzzle
pieces, think about this when you consider where plates are moving. Ex. A plate moving
in a relative northward direction is probably colliding with a plate to the north of it as
well as pulling away (diverging) from a plate to the south of it.
Using handout called, "Types of Plate Boundaries" and start deciding what types of
features you are going to find along your plate boundaries. For example, if you have a
divergent boundary between two oceanic plates (look up Divergent: Oceanic-Oceanic on
your worksheet) you'll find that you should place a Mid-Ocean Ridge along this
boundary.
Make notes on your map where you'd find: Mid-Ocean Ridges, Earthquake/Fault
Zones, Volcanoes, Rift Valleys, Deep Ocean Trenches, Volcanic Mts. (land), Island
Arcs, Undersea Volcanoes, Mountains, Rift Zones, etc. Note that your maps may
change slightly depending on your results.
Ex. If you find an Oceanic-Oceanic Convergent boundary you might add an
Island Arc (like Japan) to your world near that boundary.
You may also add "Ancient" mountains that exist on your continents from earlier
continental movements. These mountains may be used as evidence to piece the
continents together. (Note: they should have a different symbol in your key than modern
folded mountains caused by plate collisions)
Check List #2:
Plate Boundaries are labeled:
____ Divergent Boundaries
____ Convergent Boundaries
____ Transform Boundaries
Features at plate boundaries (or ancient features, possibly in the center of plates)
(must include at least eight different features)
____ Mid-Ocean Ridges
____ Earthquake/Fault Zones
____ Volcanoes
____ Rift Valleys
____ Deep Ocean Trenches
____ Volcanic Mts. (land)
____ Island Arcs
____ Undersea Volcanoes
____ Mountains
____ Rift Zones
Types of Plate Boundaries and the Results of Each Type
Continental:Oceanic Convergent
Results: Subduction zone, basaltic oceanic crust is more dense than granitic
continental crust. Deep Ocean Trenches, Stratovolcanoes and Volcanic Mts.
on Land. ex. Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest US and the Andes
Mountains in South America. Compression, Reverse faulting, strong
earthquakes.
Oceanic:Oceanic Convergent
Results: Subduction zone. Deep Ocean Trenches, Island Arcs, Undersea Volcanism.
ex. Mariana Trench, Japan, Aleutian Islands (Alaska), Phillipines, Sumatra (2004
Tsunami). Compression, Reverse faulting, strong earthquakes.
Continental:Continental Convergent
Results: Folded Mountains on Land. ex. Himalayan Mts., the Alps
in Europe, the Appalachian Mts. (ancient orogonies or mountain
building events) in the Eastern United States. Compression,
Reverse faulting, Strong earthquakes.
Oceanic:Oceanic Divergent
Results: Mid-Ocean ridges surrounded by new oceanic crust, the newest crust is
closest to the rift zone. Tension, Normal faulting, weak earthquakes. ex. MidAtlantic Ridge, East Pacific Rise.
Continental:Continental Divergent
Results: Young plate boundaries, rift valleys that may eventually fill with ocean
water creating a new ocean and then it becomes an oceanic-oceanic divergent
boundary/mid-ocean ridge. Tension. Normal faulting, weak earthquakes. ex.
Great Rift Valley Africa, Lake Superior in North America (ancient/dormant rift).
Transform Boundaries
Results: Moderate Earthquakes on land or on the ocean floor, shearing force. ex.
San Andreas fault (California, USA), North Anatolian fault (Turkey, active),
Chaman fault (Pakistan, active), Dead Sea fault (Middle East).
Plate Tectonics Map Project
Earth Space Science
Map is divided into labeled Continents, Oceans, and Tectonic Plates
_______
Student understanding of Plate Tectonics is evident by the placement of specific landforms at appropriate
plate boundaries
________
10 species drawings, an organized key, and Super Continent sketch are all included on the map
_______
Areas of shallow, moderate, and deep earthquakes are correctly placed on the map
_______
Evidence of past continental arrangements (ex. glacial striations, natural resource deposits) match the
original Super Continent map
_______
Map is in full color, neat, organized, and presented in a professional manner
_______
+ = Proficient
√ = Developing
- = Beginning
0 = Absent
https://thegeosphere.pbworks.com/w/page/22058923/Plate-Tectonics-FinalMap-Project
http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/