Continental Drift
Liz LaRosa for use with my 5th Grade Science Class
http://www.middleschoolscience.com 2009
Alfred Wegener
• Proposed the the hypothesis of
continental drift.
Continents used to be together.
Pangaea: the super continent
Greek word for “all Earth”
The earth split again
Pangaea
Pangaea
Evidence
Evidence of Pangea
Tectonic Plates
How Plates Move
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/unanswered.html
Plate Tectonics
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Greek – “tektonikos” building
Pieces of the lithosphere that move around
Each plate has a name
Fit together like jigsaw puzzles
Float on top of mantle similar to ice cubes
in a bowl of water
Review
• Name the 3 main layers of the Earth
• What is a tectonic plate?
• Who the hypothesis of proposed continental
drift?
• What was Pangea?
• Name 3 evidences for continental drift.
Stop here!!
Sea Floor Spreading
Sea Floor Spreading
• Mid Ocean Ridges – underwater mountain
chains that run through the Earth’s Basins
• Magma rises to the surface and solidifies
and new crust forms
• Older Crust is pushed
farther away from the ridge
Different Types of Boundaries
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html
Divergent Boundary –
Arabian and African Plates
Divergent Boundary –
Iceland
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html
Divergent Boundary - Oceanic
http://www.geology.com
Divergent Boundary - Continental
http://www.geology.com
Convergent Boundary – Indian and Eurasian Plates
Convergent Boundary – Oceanic & Continental
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com
Convergent Boundary – Oceanic & Oceanic
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com
Convergent Boundaries - Continental
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/understanding.html & http://www.geology.com
Transform Boundary – San Andreas Fault
www.geology.com