DISTRIBUTION OF EARTHQUAKE EPICENTERS, ● The mid-ocean ridge is the longest mountain

MOUNTAINS, AND VOLCANOES range on Earth, spanning 40,389 miles

Map of Earthquake Distribution
● The world’s earthquakes are not randomly
distributed over the Earth’s surface. They
tend to be concentrated in narrow zones.
● Some are located near the edges of the
continents, some are in mid- continents, while
others are in oceans . But not ALL edges of
continents, mid-continents, or oceans can be
places where earthquakes might occur.
around the globe
Highest Mountain Range
● The Himalayas is the tallest mountain range
in the world, with Mount Everest marking its
highest point.
● The mountain range comprises over 100
mountain peaks at elevations over 7,300 m
(24,000 ft) above sea level, including the
world’s highest peak, Mount Everest.
● The eight tallest mountain ranges in the world
can all be found in Asia.
● Mount Everest. Over 5 million people from
Nepal, India, Bhutan, China, and Pakistan
inhabit the Himalayas, with the mountain
ranges playing a large part in their cultural
beliefs and traditions.
Map of Distribution of Volcanoes

Where are places with no earthquakes?

● large part of the Pacific ocean
● northernmost Asia,
● majority of Europe,
● eastern portion of North and South America
● western Africa

Map of Major Mountain Ranges Basis for dividing the plates

● Geologic activities such as seismicity
(occurrence of earthquake), volcanism and
mountain formation are the basis of scientists
in dividing Earth’s lithosphere.
● Plates are large pieces of the upper few
hundred kilometers of Earth that move as a
single unit as it floats above the mantle.
● The plates are in constant motion. As they
interact along their margins, important
geological processes take place, such as the
formation of mountain belts, earthquakes,
and volcanoes.
Major Mountain Ranges
● Himalayas
● Andes
● Rocky Mountains
● Alps
● Ural Mountains

Mountain ranges are found in places where

volcanoes and/or earthquake epicenters are also
located.

Longest Mountain Range

● The Andes is the longest mountain range in
the world and boasts some of the highest
peaks. The range is also known for its
volcanoes, ruins of long-ago civilizations.
● 7,000 km (4,300 mi) long. The range
stretches from north to south through seven
countries in South America, along the west
coast of the continent: Venezuela, Colombia,
Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES (CONVERGENT)
Types of Plate Boundaries
Which way are the plates moving?
When 2 plates meet:
1. They can crash together = Convergent
Boundary
2. They can move away from each other =
Divergent Boundary
3. They can slide past each other =
Sliding/Transform Boundary
Convergent Plate Boundaries
● Oceanic-oceanic convergence
● Oceanic-Continental convergence
● Continental-Continental convergence
Convergent Plate Boundaries
● Convergent plate boundaries are locations
where lithospheric plates are moving towards
one another.
● Convergent Boundaries can either be:
- Subduction zone
- Collision zone
Convergent Boundaries
● There are two types of Convergent
Boundaries:
- Subduction
- Collision
Convergent Boundaries: Subduction
● When one plate is more dense than another,
the more dense plate goes underneath the
less dense plate.
● One plate goes under the other
● Features that occur: Earthquakes,
Volcanoes, Ocean Trench
Convergent boundaries: Subduction
● Where oceanic crust meets oceanic crust
● Where oceanic crust meets continental crust
● Subduction in Convergent Plate Boundary
● When continental and oceanic plates collide,
the thinner and more dense oceanic plate is
overridden by the thicker and less dense
continental plate.
● The oceanic plate is forced down into the
mantle in a process known as "subduction."
As the oceanic plate descends, it is forced
into higher temperature environments. At a
depth of about 100 miles (160 km), materials
in the subducting plate begin to approach
their melting temperatures and a process of
partial melting begins.
Example (subduction)
- Mt. St. Helens - Juan de Fuca plate goes
under the North American Plate.
Convergent Boundaries: Collision
● When the 2 plates are the same material.
● When they hit, they both buckle up (this
makes mountains).
● The two plates have the same density, they
buckle up and move to a higher elevation.
● Features: Earthquakes, Folded Mountains
● Where continental crust meets continental
crust.
Example (collision)
- Mt. Everest, Himalayas (the plates are still
colliding and gaining Elevation)
Collision Zone
● A collision zone occurs when tectonic plates
meet at a convergent boundary both bearing
continental lithosphere.
Continental-Continental Convergence
● In this type of convergent boundary, a
powerful collision occurs. The two thick
continental plates collide, and both of them
have a density that is much lower than the
mantle, which prevents subduction (there
may be a small amount of subduction, or the
heavier lithosphere below the continental
crust might break free from the crust and
subduct).
● Fragments of crust or continental margin
sediments might be caught in the collision
zone between the continents, forming a
highly deformed melange of rock. The intense
compression can also cause extensive
folding and faulting of rocks within the two
colliding plates. This deformation can extend
hundreds of miles into the plate interior.

Features of Convergent Plate Boundaries

● Trenches - Also called submarine valleys,
ocean trenches are the deepest part of the
ocean. One of the deepest is the Philippine
trench with a depth of 10,540 meters.
● Varying depth of earthquake
● Tsunami
● Volcanic island arc
● Mountain ranges

Features of Convergent Plate Boundaries

● The subduction of plate can cause
earthquakes at varying depths. Most parts of
the world experience occasional shallow
earthquakes – where the focus is within 60
km of the Earth’s surface.
● Of the total energy released by
earthquakes,85% comes from shallow
earthquakes.
● Meanwhile, about 12% of energy originates
from intermediate earthquakes or those
quakes with a focal depth range of 60 to 300
km.
● Lastly, are the deep earthquakes whose
origin is more than 300 km to 700 km below
the Earth’s surface.
● The leading edge of the subducted plate will
eventually reach the mantle causing it to melt
and turn into magma. The molten material will
rise to the surface creating a volcanic island
arc parallel to the trench. Volcanic island arc
is a chain of volcanoes positioned in an arc
shape.
 TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
(DIVERGENT AND TRANSFORM)
Divergent Boundaries
● When two plates move apart.
● Features:
- In continents: Rift
Valley, Volcanoes,
Earthquakes
- In oceans:
Mid-Ocean Ridge,
Volcanoes,
Earthquakes
Examples:
● Great Rift Valley, Africa
● Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Atlantic Ocean
Divergent Plate Boundary
● Most divergent boundaries are situated along
underwater mountain ranges called oceanic
ridges. As the plates separate, new materials
from the mantle ooze up to fill the gap. These
materials will slowly cool to produce a new
ocean floor.
● The spreading rate at these ridges may vary
from 2 to 20 cm per year. Although a very
slow process, divergence of plates ensures a
continuous supply of new materials from the
mantle. The Mid-Atlantic Ocean ridge is an
example of a spreading center which causes
the divergence of the South American plate
and the African plate.
Example: Great Rift Valley, Africa
Divergent plate boundary in Continent
● When a spreading center develops within a
continent, the crust may break into several
segments. The breaking leads to the
formation of down faulted valleys called rift
valleys.
● It is also associated with the rising of hot
materials from the mantle. The rift valley
increases its length and depth as the
spreading continues. At this point, the valley
develops into a linear sea, similar to the Red
Sea today.
Divergent boundaries occur along spreading centers
where plates are moving apart and new crust is
created by magma pushing up from the mantle.
The crust becomes longer and thinner and breaks to
a series of normal fault.
Effects that are found at a divergent boundary
between oceanic plates include:
A. submarine mountain range such as the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge;
B. volcanic activity in the form of fissure
eruptions;
C. shallow earthquake activity;
D. creation of new seafloor; and
E. a widening ocean basin.
If a divergent boundary is between continental
plates, the effects are:
A. rift valley formation which will soon develop
into linear sea;
B. shallow earthquake activities, and
C. numerous normal faults.
Sliding/Transform Boundary
● When two plates slide past each other.
● Features: Earthquakes
Example:
- California - Pacific Plate slides past the North
American Plate at the San Andreas Fault.
Transform fault boundaries
● Transform-fault boundaries are where two
plates are sliding horizontally past one
another.
● Most transform faults are found on the ocean
floor. They commonly offset active spreading
ridges, producing zig-zag plate margins, and
are generally defined by shallow
earthquakes.
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
● Observe the arrows. Tell whether the plate
boundary is convergent, divergent, or
transform.
 PROCESSES THAT OCCUR Helpful Hints…
ALONG PLATE BOUNDARIES ● Divergent is like “dissecting” or “dividing”
● If you pull warm bubble gum or silly putty, it
Plate Boundaries will thin in the middle until it is stressed so
● The edges of Earth’s plates meet at plate much that it breaks.
boundaries. ● Happens on land & under H2O
● Extended deep into the lithosphere.

Fault
● Breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have
slipped past each other.

THREE TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES

● Divergent Boundaries
● Convergent Boundaries
● Transform Boundaries Features of Divergent Boundaries
● Mid-ocean ridges
A different type of plate movement occurs along each ● Rift valleys
type of boundary. ● Fissure volcanoes

Divergent Boundaries
● A plate boundary where two plates move
away from each other. 🡨 🡪
● RIFTING causes SEAFLOOR SPREADING

How is the rock pulled at Divergent Boundaries?

● Rock gets THIN in the middle as it is pulled
apart.
● This STRESS is called TENSION.
How is the rock pushed at convergent
boundaries?
● A plate boundary where two plates move
towards each other. 🡪 🡨
● Boundaries between two plates that are
colliding.
What happens when the rock SNAPS from the ● This stress is called COMPRESSION
Stress of Tension?
● A Normal Fault (fault is a break in Earth’s
crust)
● Rock drops down as it breaks

Convergent Boundaries
● Places where plates crash (or crunch)
together or subduct (one sinks under)

What happens next at Divergent Boundaries?

● A geologic feature or event…
● May form RIFT VALLEYS on continents
● SEA-FLOOR SPREADING in the ocean
 3 TYPES OF CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES What happens when the rock is squeezed from
Type 1 the Stress of Compression?
● Ocean plate colliding with a less dense ● A REVERSE FAULT
continental plate ● Rock is forced upward as it is squeezed.
● Subduction Zone: The process by which
oceanic crust sinks beneath a deep-ocean
trench and back into the mantle at a
convergent plate boundary.

What else happens at Convergent Boundaries?

● VOLCANOES occur at subduction zones
- Andes Mountains, South America

Type 2
● Ocean plate colliding with another ocean
plate
● The denser plate slides under the less dense
plate creating a subduction zone called a
TRENCH
- Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Helpful Hints…
Type 3
● Convergent = “Connecting” boundaries
● A continental plate colliding with another
● May work like a trash compactor smashing
continental plate
rock.
● Have Collision Zones:
- Rock crunches up to make folded
- A place where folded and thrust
mountains.
faulted mountains form.
- Rock goes down “under” @
● May form Mountain Ranges; these are
subduction zone.
Folded Mountains, like the Himalayas or the
Rockies.
Transform Boundaries
● A plate boundary where two plates move past
each other in opposite directions.
How is the rock broken at Transform
Boundaries?
● Rock is pushed in two opposite directions (or
sideways, but no rock is lost)
● This stress is called SHEARING
What happens next at Transform Boundaries?
● May cause Earthquakes when the rock snaps
from the pressure.
● A famous fault @ a Transform Boundary is
the San Andreas Fault in California.
What happens when the rock is sheared (or
“cut”) from the Stress of Shearing?
● A STRIKE-SLIP FAULT
● Rocks on each side of the fault slip past each
other as they break.
Helpful Hints…
● Shearing means cutting (“Shears” are like
scissors)
● Transform boundaries run like trains going
past each other in different directions & they
shake the ground!
 THE EARTH'S INTERIOR
The Compositional & Physical
Layers of the Earth
What is inside Earth? (Peeling the Layers)
● Earth is made of several layers.
● Each layer has its own characteristic
properties.
● Scientists think about Earth’s layers in two
ways—in terms of chemical composition, and
in terms of physical properties.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
● Earth can be divided into three layers based
on chemical composition: the crust, the
mantle, and the core.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
● The outermost solid layer of Earth is the
crust.
● 5-100 km thick
● There are two types of crust: continental and
oceanic:
- Oceanic (very dense, made of basalt)
- Continental (less dense, made of
granite)
The Crust
● Both types of crust are made mostly of
oxygen, silicon, and aluminum.
● Oceanic crust is denser than continental crust
because it contains almost twice as much
iron, calcium, and magnesium.
● The continental crust is mainly made up of
silicon, oxygen, aluminum, calcium, sodium,
and potassium. The thickness of the
continental crust is mostly 35-40 kilometers.
Continental crust, found under land masses,
is made of less dense rocks such as granite.
The Crust
● The oceanic crust is around 7-10 kilometers
thick while its average thickness is 8
kilometers. It is found under the ocean floor
and is made of dense rocks such as basalt.
● The crust consists of two layers. The upper
layer is composed of granite and is only
found in the continental crust. Below the
granite is a layer made mainly of basalt. This
is found both under the continents and the
oceans.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
● The mantle is located between the crust and
the core.
● 1/3 of the earth’s mass
● Very hot—The mantle is a region of hot,
slow-flowing solid rock.
● The mantle contains more magnesium and
less aluminum and silicon than the crust.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
● Convection is the movement of heated
material as a result of differences in density.
● Convection in the mantle causes cooler rock
to sink and warmer rock to rise.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
● The core extends from below the mantle to
the center of Earth.
● Scientists think the core is made mostly of
iron and some nickel.
● The core is the densest layer and makes up
about one-third of Earth’s mass.
What are Earth’s compositional layers?
What are Earth’s physical layers?
● Earth is also divided into layers based on
physical properties, such as whether the layer
is solid or liquid.
● The five physical layers are the lithosphere,
asthenosphere, mesosphere, outer core, and
inner core.
● Meso = middle
● Sphere = ball

REVIEW!!
1. What are the 3 compositional layers of the
earth?
- Crust, Mantle, Core
2. Name the 2 types of crust
What are Earth’s physical layers? - Continental, oceanic
● The outermost, rigid layer of Earth is the 3. What occurs in the mantle that moves
lithosphere. lithospheric plates?
● The lithosphere is made of the crust and the - Convection
upper part of the mantle. 4. What is the core made of?
● The lithosphere is divided into tectonic plates. - Iron and nickel

What are Earth’s physical layers?

● The asthenosphere is the layer of the mantle
made of solid rock that moves very slowly.
● The asthenosphere is located below the
lithosphere.
● Tectonic plates move on top of the
asthenosphere.

What are Earth’s physical layers?

● The strong, lower part of the mantle is called
the mesosphere.
● Rock in the mesosphere flows more slowly
than rock in the Asthenosphere.

What are Earth’s physical layers?

● The outer core is the liquid layer of Earth’s
core.
● The outer core lies beneath the mantle and
surrounds the inner core.

What are Earth’s physical layers?

● The inner core is the solid, dense, center of
our planet.
● The inner core extends from the bottom of the
outer core to the center of Earth.
 SEA FLOOR SPREADING
Sea-Floor Spreading
● The process by which molten material adds
new oceanic crust to the ocean floor.
Mid-Ocean Ridge
● The undersea mountain chain where new
ocean floor is produced; a divergent plate
boundary.
Three Interpretations for Color
1. Age
2. Temperature
3. Elevation
Sonar (sound navigation and ranging)
● A device that determines the distance of an
object under water by recording echoes of
sound waves.
● Used to map the ocean floor.
● Sonar bounces sound waves off underwater
objects and then records the echoes of these
waves.
● The time it takes for the echo to arrive
indicates the distance to the object.
Evidence for Sea-Floor Spreading
● In the 1960s, Harry Hess examined maps of
the mid ocean ridge. He proposed that the
ocean floors move like conveyor belts,
carrying the continents with them (The
Seafloor Spreading Theory).
● Robert S. Dietz was an American Geologist
who was known for his substantial
contributions to and for the promotion of
Theory of Plate Tectonics.
● Both Hess and Dietz stated that upwelling in
the convection currents caused magma to
reach the ocean bottom forming new rock
and that downwelling of the convection
currents dragged the sea floor downward at
the trenches, thus holding the size of the
Earth constant.
Harry Hess’ Idea
● As new seafloor is made at mid-ocean ridges,
the continents are pushed away.
What evidence did scientists find for sea-floor
spreading in the 1960s?
● Evidence from molten material
● Evidence from magnetic stripes
● Evidence from drilling samples
Evidence from Molten Material
● The submersible Alvin’s crew found strange
rocks shaped like pillows or like toothpaste
squeezed from a tube.
● Such rocks can form only when molten
materials harden quickly after erupting
underwater.
● The presence of these rocks showed that
molten materials had erupted again and
again from cracks along the central valley of
the mid-ocean ridge.
Evidence from Magnetic Stripes
● Scientists discovered that the rock that
makes up the ocean floor lies in a pattern of
magnetized “stripes”.
● 780,000 years ago, magnetic poles reversed
themselves
- If they reversed today, the needle in a
compass would point south instead of
north.
● The rock in the ocean is made of iron, which
began as molten material.
Magnetic Reversal
● Also called magnetic “flip” of the Earth. It
happens when the North Pole is transformed
into a South Pole and the South Pole
becomes North Pole. This is due to the
change in the direction of flow in the outer
core.
Magnetic Polarity in Rocks
● The occurrence of magnetic reversals that
can be explained through the magnetic
patterns in magnetic rocks, especially those
found in the ocean floor.
● When lava solidifies iron-bearing materials
crystallize. As these crystallize, the materials
behave like tiny compasses and align with the
Earth's magnetic field. So when magnetic
reversal occurs, there is also a change in the
polarity of the rocks. This allowed scientists to
visualize the magnetic stripes in the ocean
floor and magnetic polarity time scale.
Evidence from Drilling Samples
● Starting from August 1968, the ship Glomar
Challenger was embarked on the
15-year-long scientific expedition, the Deep
Sea Drilling Program, criss-crossing the
Mid-Atlantic Ridge between South
America and Africa and drilling core
samples at specific locations.
● When the age of the samples was
determined by paleontologic and isotopic
dating studies, this provided conclusive
evidence for the seafloor spreading
hypothesis and consequently for plate
tectonics.
● When scientists sample the rocks they found
that the further away from the ridge the rocks
were the older they were.
● The younger rocks were always in the center
of the ridges.
Findings that support Seafloor Spreading Theory:
1. Rocks are younger and the mid ocean ridge.
2. Rocks far from the mid-ocean ridge are older.
3. Sediments are thinner at the ridge.
4. Rocks at the ocean floor are younger than
those at the continents.

Deep-Ocean Trenches
● A deep valley along the ocean floor through
which oceanic crust slowly sinks to words the
mantle.

Subduction
● The process by which oceanic crust sinks
through a deep-ocean trench and back into
the mantle; a convergent plate boundary.

Subduction and Earth’s Oceans

Subduction in the Pacific Ocean

● Occurring at a greater rate than seafloor is
expanding.
● This is caused by the large amount of
trenches.

Subduction in the Atlantic

● The Atlantic ocean is expanding at a greater
rate than subducting.
● This is because of the low number of
trenches in the Atlantic.
● Over time the entire ocean gets larger and
pushes against the continents.