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What Major Geologic Features are Evidence that the Earth’s Crust is Moving?
The movement of the earth’s crust is responsible for major geologic events, such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
The location of these geologic events gives scientists evidence about the movement of the plates.
The earth’s crust is broken into plates that move due to the convection currents of the mantle.
 There are 2 types of crust – continental crust (the land) and oceanic crust (under the ocean.)
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Four different things can happen when the plates meet depending on the type of plate and the way they are moving.
 Two plates can move apart.
 Two plates can move towards each other.
Two continental crust plates can move towards each other.
An oceanic plate can move towards a continental crust plate.
 Two plates can slide past each other.
At the edges of the plates the movement of the plates creates geologic events such as valleys, canyons, mountains,
trenches, volcanoes and earthquakes.
Two Plates Moving Apart:
Can occur in the ocean and on land.
Two Plates Colliding:
Both Continental
Two Plates Colliding:
One Oceanic Crust and One
Continental
Two Plates Sliding Past Each
Other:
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Geologic Features:
Geologic Feature:
Valleys or canyons are
made because the plates
are moving apart.
Mountains are made Ocean trenches are
because the crust is made.
pushed up.
Volcanoes are
created.
Earthquakes occur.
On land a deep valley is
made.
In the ocean a deep canyon
is formed.
New crust is created here.
Geologic Features:
The oceanic crust
sinks under the
continental crust.
The oceanic crust
melts and some of the
melted rock is forced
up, making a volcano.
Crust is melted here.
Geologic Feature:
Earthquakes occur
Crust is neither
created nor
destroyed.
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Example:
Great Rift Valley in Africa,
Mid-ocean ridge in the Atlantic Ocean
Example:
Himalaya Mountains
Example:
The Ring of Fire in the Pacific
Ocean is called this because
volcanoes occur along the edges
of the plates.
Example:
The San Andreas fault in
California created the San
Francisco earthquakes.
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Analyze the diagrams below to:
 identify the types of plates that are interacting (continental or oceanic),
 how the plates are interacting in terms of their movement.
 the geologic activity that will occur at these plates as a result of this movement.
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