TEKS 6.10C identify the major tectonic plates including Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Pacific, North American, and South American
Materials:
 colored pencils
Can You Find Us?
Objective: Identify major tectonic plates on a map.
Teacher Setup : Using an overhead transparency or projection you should review each of the seven major
plates with the students after they have completed the assignment.
Eurasian
North American
Pacific
Nazca
African
Indo-Australia
South American
AmericAmerAme
rican
Antartic
TEKS 6.10C identify the major tectonic plates including Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Pacific, North American, and South American
Can You Find Us?
Objective: Identify major tectonic plates on a map.
Now that we know that the Earth is made up of many layers we will focus on the outermost layer of the Earth
known as the crust. The crust is broken up into seven pieces, or plates. These plates are carried by the lithosphere
as it sits on top of the asthenosphere. In the activity below you will use the clues and coordinates given to identify,
label, and color each of the following tectonic plates on your map.
Pacific Plate (color blue) - While I am mostly crust under the ocean, I have a small piece of continental crust and
can cause a lot of moving and shaking in California. I am found between 150° E longitude and 120°W longitude.
North American Plate (green) – I rattle people’s nerves when I collide with my pal the Pacific plate. I am home to
the United States and Mexico. About half of me is under the Atlantic Ocean.
Indo-Australian Plate (red) – I am located underneath the Indian Ocean and stretch from the land of the koalas
to Iraq in the Middle East. I can be found between 40°N latitude and 60°S latitude.
African Plate (yellow) – I can be found with my “mummy” where 0° latitude meets 0° longitude.
South American Plate (orange) – I extend from 60°S latitude to 15°N latitude and am home to the Amazon rain
forest.
Eurasian Plate (brown) – Russia, China, and Europe all call me home, which makes me rather large. I collide with
the Indo-Australian Plate quite often.
Nazca Plate (purple) – I am sliding towards and under my neighbor, the South American plate. I am a smaller
plate covered by the Eastern Pacific Ocean.
Antartic Plate (pink) – I can be found at the southernmost part of the hemisphere under 60°S