World of Plate Tectonics

Created by - Adam Broge

Splendodupulous

ORIGIN OF THE PANGAEA THEORY

Alfred Wegener was the man who thought up the Pangaea theory. The theory of the super continent was first served with lots of Skepticism, however scientists began finding evidence of the Super Continent’s existence. Pangaea was in the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods nearly 250 million years ago. Pangaea means Entire Earth which tells why the named it that. Before the Pangaea theory, the scientists figured the plates were “Fixed”. Alfred was also an Astronomer which may have increased his common sense and logic a bit with figuring out Pangaea. Some of Alfred’s supporters that helped prove and spread his idea were Alexander Du Toit, and Arthur Holmes.

THE CONVERGENT BOUNDARY

A convergent boundary is an actively deforming region where several plates or pieces of the lithosphere move toward one another and collide. Because of pressure, friction, and rock melting in the mantle, earthquakes and volcanoes are near convergent boundaries. Earth Quakes, Volcanoes and Mountains happen when convergent boundaries form. The San Andreas Fault is a Convergent Boundary, The Pacific and North American plates are the 2 converging.

THE DIVERGENT BOUNDARY exists between two tectonic plates that are

moving away from each other. These areas can form on the end of continents but eventually form ocean basins. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts which produce rift valleys. Therefore, most active divergent plate boundaries are between oceanic plates and are often called mid-ocean ridges. And Occasionally Trenches

A TRANSFORM BOUNDARYIs a fault which runs along the boundary of a plate. The motion of these plates is usually horizontal in either sinistral or dextral direction. Sometimes, some vertical motion may also exist, but the principal characteristics in a transform fault are oriented horizontally. Land Slides, Mud Slides and Earth Quakes occur near Transform Boundaries. An example of a transform boundary is the Southern Alps, including the South Island and New Zealand. This has created the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Applying To Us…

We live on the North American Plate, bordered by the Eurasian plate, African Plate, Cocos Plate, and Caribbean Plates. Certain Parts of the USA are more prone to Earthquakes than others but Ohio is not in any serious threat zone. Studies have shown that we have another Earthquake ‘Due’ in the near future, This is in the Tri- State area.