Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 23 views

    What Is Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Aldawi Ug
    The lithosphere is broken into large tectonic plates that move over Earth's interior. Plate boundaries, where the plates meet, are associated with earthquakes and volcanoes as the plates interact. Some of the major plate boundaries include transform faults like the San Andreas Fault, thrust faults like the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, and divergent boundaries like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Understanding the behavior of these plate boundaries and their associated faults is important for assessing seismic hazards.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    What Is Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Aldawi Ug
    23 views4 pages
    The lithosphere is broken into large tectonic plates that move over Earth's interior. Plate boundaries, where the plates meet, are associated with earthquakes and volcanoes as the plates interact. Some of the major plate boundaries include transform faults like the San Andreas Fault, thrust faults like the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, and divergent boundaries like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Understanding the behavior of these plate boundaries and their associated faults is important for assessing seismic hazards.

    Original Title

    What is Plate Tectonics

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    The lithosphere is broken into large tectonic plates that move over Earth's interior. Plate boundaries, where the plates meet, are associated with earthquakes and volcanoes as the plates interact. Some of the major plate boundaries include transform faults like the San Andreas Fault, thrust faults like the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, and divergent boundaries like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Understanding the behavior of these plate boundaries and their associated faults is important for assessing seismic hazards.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    23 views4 pages

    What Is Plate Tectonics

    Uploaded by

    Aldawi Ug
    The lithosphere is broken into large tectonic plates that move over Earth's interior. Plate boundaries, where the plates meet, are associated with earthquakes and volcanoes as the plates interact. Some of the major plate boundaries include transform faults like the San Andreas Fault, thrust faults like the Himalayan Frontal Thrust, and divergent boundaries like the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Understanding the behavior of these plate boundaries and their associated faults is important for assessing seismic hazards.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    You are on page 1of 4

    What is Plate Tectonics?

    The term tectonics refers to the large-scale geologic processes that deform
    Earth’s lithosphere, producing landforms such as ocean basins, continents, and
    mountains. Tectonics processes are driven by forces within the Earth. These
    processes are part of the tectonic system, are important subsystem of the earth
    system.
    Movement of the Lithospheric Plates
    What is Plate Tectonics – the lithosphere is broken into large pieces is called Lithospheric
    plates.
    Location of Earthquakes and Volcanoes Define Plate Boundaries.
    • You will see in ones I showed it to you the picture structure of the Earth 200
    million years ago
    • One of the Example of the is the JUAN DE FUCA PLATE this plate is small,
    and it is responsible for many of the earthquakes in Northern California.
    • Most earthquakes and many volcanoes are associate with these boundaries are
    defined areas in which concentrated seismic activity occurs. As you can see on the
    figure. Over geologic times these plates are formed and destroyed by several
    earthquake and this cycle repeats.

    1. THE SAN ANDREAS FAULT is a major transform fault in California, USA,


    and is one of the most well-known and extensively studied fault lines in the
    world. It extends approximately 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) through
    California, running mostly in a northwest-southeast direction. The fault
    marks the boundary between the Pacific Plate to the west and the North
    American Plate to the east.

    2. HIMALAYAN FRONTAL THRUSTThe Himalayan Frontal Thrust is a


    thrust fault that runs along the southern base of the Himalayan mountain
    range, where the Indian Plate is colliding with the Eurasian Plate.
    3. North Anatolian Fault (Turkey): The North Anatolian Fault
    is a major right-lateral strike-slip fault in northern Turkey,
    accommodating the westward motion of the Anatolian Plate
    relative to the Eurasian Plate.
    4. East African Rift (East Africa): The East African Rift is an
    active continental rift zone in East Africa where the African
    Plate is splitting into the Nubian Plate to the west and the
    Somali Plate to the east.
    5. Alpine Fault (New Zealand): The Alpine Fault is a major
    right-lateral strike-slip fault that runs through the South
    Island of New Zealand, accommodating the motion between
    the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate.
    6. Mid-Atlantic Ridge: While not a single fault, the Mid-
    Atlantic Ridge is a divergent boundary between the North
    American, South American, Eurasian, and African Plates in
    the Atlantic Ocean. It is associated with seafloor spreading.
    7. Japan Trench (Japan): The Japan Trench is a subduction
    zone where the Pacific Plate is subducting beneath the North
    American Plate, causing significant seismic activity. It was
    the source of the devastating 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and
    tsunami.

    These faults are just a few examples, and there are many others
    worldwide. Faults play a crucial role in the Earth's dynamic processes,
    and understanding their behavior is essential for assessing seismic
    hazards and mitigating the impact of earthquakes.

    You might also like