1. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology

2. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 1
*What is the main idea?
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-What are plate tectonics in California like?
*Many of California’s landforms were produced by plate tectonic activity, which continues today.
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-Movements of plates have changed California dramatically.
-Seas have disappeared, old mountains have eroded away, and new mountains have been uplifted.
-At the northern end of California, a convergent plate boundary sits offshore and produces earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountains.

3. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 2
*What is California’s transform plate boundary?
*A small part of California, west of the San Andreas Fault, lies on the Pacific Plate.
*The San Andreas Fault is a transform plate boundary that is located between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.
*Because the San Andreas Fault is a transform plate boundary, it is also a strike-slip fault.
*It extends all the way from Mendocino in the northern part of California to the Salton Sea in the south.

4. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 3
-What is California’s convergent plate boundary?
-Offshore of Northern California, there are two small oceanic lithospheric plates.
-These plates are known as the Gorda and Juan de Fuca.
-They are subducted beneath the coast at the Cascadia Subduction Zone.
-This subduction forms a convergent plate boundary.
- Melting above this subduction zone produces the volcanic mountains of the Cascade Range.

5. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 4
*How were California’s mountains formed?
*California’s mountains often formed from interactions at several plate boundaries.
*Convergent plate boundaries, both in the past and the present, have been important in forming California’s mountains.
*During mountain building, compressive stresses and heat produce metamorphic rocks that form where plates converge.
*The Klamath Mountains, Coastal Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, and Sierra Nevada, all contain igneous and metamorphic rocks that formed far below the surface.

6. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 5
*How were California’s mountains formed?
(Continued)
*There are even some mountains in California that have formed because of tension stresses.
*The Panamint Range just west of Death Valley is rising up as the crust in eastern California stretches.
*Mountains help scientists understand the processes that are part of California’s rich tectonic history.

7. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 6
*How were California’s mountains formed?
(Continued)

8. Chapter 5, Lesson 2, California Geology, Slide 7
-Summary
-Most of California is located on the North American Plate.
-The San Andreas Fault is a transform plate boundary and strike- slip fault that extends from from Cape Mendocino to the Salton Sea.
-Convergent plate boundaries make up most of California’s mountain ranges.
-There are some mountains, such as the Panamint Range, that have formed because of tension stresses.