DRIFTING

&

MOVING
of LAND MASSES
 Theory of Continental Drift
Developed in 20th century by Alfred Wegener

Wegener suggested that continents move

around on Earth’s surface.

Wegener proposed that the continents were

once united named Pangaea.
Pangea
2 Divisions of Pangea
by Alexander Du Toit (Our Wandering Continents, 1937)

1. Laurasia
Northern Hemisphere (North America, Europe, and Asia).
2. Gondwana
Southern Hemisphere (North America, Europe and Asia).
 Plates
The lithosphere is broken like a slightly cracked
eggshell, into about a dozen major separate rigid
blocks.
The lithospheric plates are about 60 km thick beneath
the oceans and 100–200 km beneath the continents.
They ride on a weak
layer of the upper
mantle called the
asthenosphere.
 2 Types of Plates
1. Oceanic Plate
composed of basalt/gabbro, thinner
created by underwater volcanoes

• Layer 1 is on an average 0.4 km thick

• Layer 2 could be divided into two parts:
layer 2A – 0.5 km thick uppermost volcanic layer
layer 2B – 1.5 km thick layer composed of diabase dikes
• Layer 3 is formed by slow cooling of magma beneath the surface and
consists of coarse grained rocks

The Scotia, Pacific, Philippines, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, and Nazca plate.
Plates that are partially oceanic include the North American, South
American, Eurasian, East African, West African, Antarctic and Australian
plate.
 Subduction
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.
2. Continental Plate
predominantly granitic rock
formed primarily by convergent plate boundaries
 Types of Boundaries
Convergent Boundaries
Where plates serving landmasses collide, the crust crumples and
buckles into mountain ranges.
Ocean-ocean Convergences
One plate usually dives beneath the other. These can also lead to
underwater volcanoes.
Divergent Boundaries
Magma from deep in the Earth's mantle rises toward the
surface and pushes apart two or more plates. Mountains
and volcanoes rise along the seam. The process renews
the ocean floor and widens the giant basins.
Transform Boundaries
Two plates grind past each other along what are called
strike-slip faults. These boundaries don't produce
spectacular features like mountains or oceans, but the
halting motion often triggers large earthquakes.