Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
Theory of Plate Tectonics Text pg. 202 - 205
Term and Landform
Plate Tectonics
Definition
Explains how
tectonic plates
move and change
shape
Diagram
Convergent Boundary
“come together” where two plates collide; move toward each other
Oceanic – Continental Oceanic plate and
continental plate
move toward each
 Trench
other and collide
 Volcanic arc

Earthquakes
Denser oceanic
lithosphere sinks
beneath continental
lithosphere.
Large earthquakes and
volcanoes occur here.
Mountains form,
trenches in ocean
Examples on Earth:
 Andes Mts
 Cascade Mts.
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Continental –
Continental
Earthquakes
VERY tall mountains
High plateau
Continental plates
move toward each
other and collide
Both pieces of tectonic
plate crumple and
form very tall
mountains.
Rarely have volcanoes,
but earthquakes occur.
Examples on Earth:


Himalayas
Alps
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
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Oceanic – Oceanic



Earthquakes
Island arc volcanoes
Trench
Two oceanic plates
move toward each
other and collide
The denser oceanic
crust will subduct
under the other
oceanic crust.
Volcanoes and
earthquakes are very
common
Forms an island arc of
volcanic islands.
Examples on Earth:
 Japan
 Aleutian Islands
 Philippines
Divergent Boundary
Features:
 Sea-floor
spreading
 Rift valleys
 Volcanoes and
earthquakes occur
 Fissure volcanoes
 Mid-ocean ridges
“to move apart” two
plates move away
from each other
Lithosphere forms
Examples on Earth:
 Mid ocean ridges
 Rift Valley in Africa
 Iceland
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Transform Boundary
Earthquakes
“wrinkling of land in
some instances”
Where two plates slide
past each other
Earthquakes occur
Ex. San Andreas Fault,
CA
Mid-ocean ridges
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
Ridge Push
Happens at divergent
boundaries
Theory of Plate Tectonics Text pg. 202 - 205
Occurs at midocean ridges. Ridges
are at a higher
elevation than at the
subduction zone.
The oceanic
lithosphere slides
downhill due to the
force of gravity as
rock cools and
becomes more
dense.
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
Theory of Plate Tectonics Text pg. 202 - 205
Convection currents
Slab Pull
Hot rock from deep
in the mantle rises,
cools when it gets to
the lithosphere,
travels along under
the rigid lithosphere
and then sinks back
into the
asthenosphere.
Convection causes
the oceanic
lithosphere to move
sideways and away
from the mid ocean
ridge.
Oceanic lithosphere is
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
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denser than the
continental lithosphere.
The edge of the
oceanic lithosphere
subducts pulling the
rest of the tectonic
plate with it into the
asthenosphere. It is
currently believed
that this is the
greatest cause of
tectonic plate
movement.
Name: _______________________________________ Date: _________________________________ Per. ________ Pg. ______
Theory of Plate Tectonics Text pg. 202 - 205