Plate Tectonics BOUNDARIES Chapter 17 Learning Targets: What are the three types of plate boundaries? What features can be found at each one?

Plate Tectonics Earth’s crust is cracked into smaller pieces called PLATES Looks like a cracked egg shell There are two types of crust –Continental crust –Oceanic crust

Plate Boundaries Divergent Boundary –Moving away Convergent Boundary –Moving together Transform Boundary –Sliding past each other

Plate Tectonics Divergent Plate Boundaries –Magma comes up pushing plates away –New rocks are created –Mid-Ocean Ridge = largest divergent boundary Underwater Mountain Range –Called a Rift Valley if on land Great Rift Valley in Africa

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Plate Tectonics Divergent Boundary –Plates are moving AWAY from each other –I need 2 Volunteers! –DIVergent  DIVorce

Plate Tectonics Convergent Boundaries –There are 2 main types of Convergent Boundaries First one is when an oceanic plate meets a continental plate

Oceanic – Continental Boundary Oceanic Crust is denser than Continental Crust Oceanic Crust gets SUBDUCTED underneath Continental Crust –Subduction  goes underneath Creates a Trench and Volcanoes –Example: Mt. St. Helens Watch Animation!

Continental – Continental Boundary Plates have same densities –No subduction Plates Collide and land goes UP Mountains are created –Paper Demo Example: Himalayan Mountains (Mt. Everest)

Plate Boundaries Convergent Boundaries –P–Plates moving TOWARDS each other –N–Need 2 more Volunteers! –C–Convergent  Connecting or COUPLE

Transform Boundary –A.k.a Sliding boundary –One plate is sliding horizontally past another plate –Earthquakes are common at these boundaries –The San Andreas Fault (California) is the most well known example

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