1. Deformation of the Crust
By: Mrs. Severe
Earth Science

2. Section 1 – How the Crust is Deformed
Objectives:
Predict isostatic adjustments that will result from changes in the thickness of the earth’s crust.
Identify sources of stress in crustal rock.

3. Deformation Bending, tilting, and breaking of the earth's crust
Plate tectonics is the major cause of crustal deformation, but is not the only force that shapes the earth’s crust.

4. Other Forces Changes in the weight of some parts of the crust
Thicker and heavier = sink more deeply into the mantle
Thinner and lighter = rise higher on the mantle

5. Isostatic Adjustment
Up-and-down movements of the crust occur because of two opposing forces.
Crust presses down on the mantle
Mantle presses up on the crust
When the two forces balance, the crust moves neither up nor down

6. Isostatic Adjustment Continued…
When weight is added to the crust, it sinks until a balance of the forces is reached again
Balancing of the two forces is called:
ISOSTASY

7. Isostatic Adjustment Continued…
Up-and-down movements of the crust to reach isostasy is called
ISOSTATIC ADJUSTMENTS
As the adjustments occur, areas of the crust are bent up and down
Pressure from this causes rocks in that area of the crust to deform

8. Isostatic Adjustment Still Continued…
Isostatic adjustments occur constantly:
Mountain ranges
*As the crust becomes lighter, the region may rise
Rivers flow into large bodies of water carrying large amounts of mud, sand, and gravel
*Added weight cause the floor to sink

9. Isostatic Adjustment STILL Continued…
Isostatic adjustments occur constantly:
Glaciers once covered the land
*Weight of the ice caused the crust underneath it to sink
Glacial ice retreats
Land slowly begins rising again in response to its reduced weight

10. Isostatic Adjustment FINAL!

11. Stress (Not the kind you cause your teacher to have)
Isostatic adjustment and plate movement cause stress in rocks that make up the earth’s crust
Amount of force per unit area that is placed on any given material

12. Strain
Crustal stress occurs when lithospheric plates collide, separate, or rub together
A change in the shape or volume of rocks that results from the stress of being squeezed, twisted, or pulled apart

13. Types of Stress
Compression - occurs when crustal rocks are squeezed together
often reduces the volume of the rocks
Tension - the force that pulls rocks apart
rocks tend to become thinner
Shearing - sliding rocks past each other in opposite horizontal directions

14. Types of Stress

15. Review Explain isostatic adjustment… Define Stress and Strain…
Draw a diagram of each of the following:
Compression
Tension
Shearing

16. Section 2 – The Results of Stress
Objectives:
Compare folding and faulting as responses to stress
Describe four types of faults

17. The Results of Stress Introduction
High pressure and temperatures caused by stress deform rocks
Stress applied slowly = rock may return to its original shape as the force is removed
If the force exceeds an acceptable amount, the shape of the rock changes permanently
Rock may also break because of extreme stress

18. Folding
Rock responding to stress by becoming permanently deformed without breaking
Usually occurs deep in the crust where overlying rocks create great pressure so behavior is more plastic

19. 3 Types of Folds
Anticline
Syncline
Monoclin

20. Anticline
Up-curved fold in which the oldest layer is in the center of the fold
Generally forms a ridge
Can you think of examples…

21. Syncline Down-curved fold in which the youngest layer is in the center
Generally forms a valley
Can you think of examples…

22. Monocline Fold in which both limbs remain horizontal
Gently dipping one way or the other
Can you think of examples…

23. Faulting
Breaks in rocks when the rocks on either side of the break move is faulting
Breaks in rocks when the rocks on either side of the break do not move is fracture
Near the crust’s surface rocks are more brittle and tend to break, not bend

24. Fault Vocabulary
Fault plane - surface of a fault along which any motion occurs
Hanging wall - in a non-vertical fault, the rock above the fault plane
Footwall - rock below the fault plane

25. 4 Types of Faulting Normal Fault Reverse Fault Thrust Fault
Strike-slip Fault

26. Normal Faulting Hanging wall moves down relative to the footwall
Form along divergent boundaries
Usually occurs in a series of parallel fault lines

27. Reverse and Thrust Fault
Reverse - Forms when compression causes the hanging wall to move up relative to the footwall
Thrust - Fault plane is at a low angle or nearly horizontal.
Common in steep mountains such as the Rockies and Alps

28. Strike-slip Fault
Rock on either side of the fault plane slides horizontally
Often occur in transform boundaries
Example: San Andreas Fault

29. Review
What results when rock responds to stress by permanently deforming without breaking?
Explain why faulting is more likely to occur near the surface than deep within the earth…
Draw and describe four types of faults

30. Section 3 – Mountain Formation
Objectives:
Identify the types of plate collisions that build mountains.
Identify four types of mountains and discuss the forces that shaped them.

31. Mountain Formation Introduction
A mountain range is a group of adjacent mountains with the same general shape and structure
A group of adjacent mountain ranges make up a mountain system
Largest mountain systems are part of still larger systems called mountain belts
Circum-Pacific Belt
Eurasian-Melanesian Belt

32. Plate Tectonics and Mountains
Circum-Pacific and Eurasian-Melanesian mountain belts are located along convergent plate boundaries
Scientists think this is evidence that most mountains were formed when lithospheric plates collided

33. How Plate Collisions Form Mountains
Collisions between Continental and Oceanic Crust = Subduction zones form coastal volcanoes
Collisions between Oceanic Crust and Oceanic Crust = Volcanic island arcs form on ocean floor
Collisions between Continents = Crust crumples and rises (Example are the Himalayas)

34. Types of Mountains
Mountains are complicated structures with rock formations that yield evidence of the forces that created them.
Classified by: deformation and shape
4 Types

35. Folded Mountains and Plateaus
Continental Crust is pushed together and up
Highest mountain ranges in the world
Plateaus are large uplifted flats are also formed near folded mountains

36. Fault-Block Mountains
Range fronts rise along normal faults as a result of crustal stretching
Examples: Lost River Range, most of Nevada

37. Volcanic Mountains
Mountains that form when molten rock erupts onto the earth’s surface
Hot Spots – formed on the ocean floor

38. Dome Mountains
Formed when molten rock rises through the crust and pushes up the rock layers above it
When pushed up, rock layers are worn away exposing hardened rock
Where the rock wears away and leaves separate high peaks is dome mountains

39. Review
Describe the types of lithospheric plate collisions that build mountains.
Name the four types of mountains and explain how each is formed.
How do volcanic mountains grow?