EARTH IN MOTION:EARTHQUAKES AND VOLCANOES

Student Notes

Ms. PercyCGC1D1

Plate Tectonics, Earthquakes and Volcanoes…What’s the Connection?

• What will happen if two continental plates collide?

• What will happen if a continental plate collides with an oceanic plate?

• What will happen if two oceanic plates collide?

Plate Boundaries and Movement

• There are three types of plate movement1. Convergent –

2. Divergent –

3. Transform –

The movement of the plates has the power to both create and destroy by

• Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, Himalayas

Continent-Continent Collision

Himalayas

• Called SUBDUCTION and creates a volcano

Continent-Oceanic Crust Collision

• Subduction zone:

• Subduction zones are the balance to divergent zones. Why?

SUBDUCTION ZONE

• Another type of subduction zone is when two oceanic plates collide

• This forms a trench on the ocean floor• The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are found along

trenches– E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!

Ocean-Ocean Plate Collision

Pacific Ring of Fire

- Subduction - Rifting - Hotspots

Volcanoes are formed by:

• Hot mantle plumes breaching the surface in the middle of a tectonic plate

What are Hotspot Volcanoes?

Photo: Tom Pfeiffer / www.volcanodiscovery.com

The Hawaiian island chain are examples of hotspot volcanoes.

The tectonic plate moves over a fixed hotspot forming a chain of volcanoes.

The volcanoes get younger from one end to the other.

…what’s the connection?

Earthquakes and Plate Tectonics…

• As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not randomly distributed over the globe

Figure showing the distribution of earthquakes around the globe

Where do earthquakes form?

Figure showing the tectonic setting of earthquakes

Key Terms: Check Your Notes

• Convergent • Divergent • Transform • Subduction Zone• Pacific Ring of Fire• Volcano• Hot Spot Volcano• Earthquake

Why is this important anyways?