The Structure of

the Earth and

Plate Tectonics
• 1. Explain the Plate
Tectonic Theory.
• 2. Name several plates that
consist the Earth’s
Lithosphere.
• 3. Differentiate continental
and oceanic crust.
WHAT ARE THE
LAYERS OF THE
EARTH?
 Structure of the Earth
Mantle
• The Earth is
made up of 4 Outer core
main layers: Inner core
– Crust
– Mantle
– Outer Core
– Inner Core
Crust
liquid, 2850
km thick liquid, 2220
km thick

Solid, 1270
km thick
 The Crust
• This is where we live!
• that extendsfrom the surface to about
32 kilometers below.
• The Earth’s crust is made of:

Continental Crust Oceanic Crust

- thick (10-70km) - thin (~7 km)
- buoyant (less - dense (sinks
dense than under continental
oceanic crust) crust)
- mostly old - young
 Red = youngest crust
Age of Oceanic Crust

Courtesy of
www.ngdc.noaa.gov
What is Plate
Tectonics?
• The theory that the Earth’s
outermost layer is fragmented
into a dozen or more large and
small plates that move relative
to one another as they ride on
top of hotter, more mobile
material.
• If you look at a map of the world, you may notice that some
of the continents could fit together like pieces of a puzzle.
 Plate Tectonics
• The Earth’s crust is divided into 12 major
plates which are moved in various directions.
• This plate motion causes them to collide, pull
apart, or scrape against each other.
• Each type of interaction causes a
characteristic set of Earth structures or
“tectonic” features.
• The word, tectonic, refers to the deformation
of the crust as a consequence of plate
interaction.
 What are tectonic plates
made of?
• Plates are
made of
rigid
lithosphere.
The lithosphere
is made up of
the crust and
the upper part
of the mantle.
What lies beneath the tectonic
plates?
• Below the
lithosphere
(which
makes up
the tectonic
plates) is
the
asthenosph
ere.
 Plate Movement
• “Plates” of lithosphere are moved
around by the underlying hot
convection cells in the
astenosphere.
 My Pyramid of Plates
1. Philippine Plate,2. Indian-
Australian Plate, 3.African Plate,
4.Antartic Plate,5. Pacific Plate, 6.
Nazca Plate, 7. Australian Plate,
8.Indian Plate, 9.Arabian Plate,
10.Cocos Plate, 11.Eurasian Plate,
12.Juan de Fuca Plate,
13.Carribean Plate,14. Indian
Plate, 15.South American Plate,
16.North American Plate.
Q3. Which of the
tectonic plates belong
to the 7 largest
plates? Which belongs
to the smaller ones?
• The 7 largest plates are the
Pacific Plate, Eurasian Plate,
North American Plate, African
Plate, Australian Plate,
Antarctic Plate, South American
Plate. Examples of smaller ones
are the Philippine plate, Juan
de Fuca Plate, Cocos Plate,
Carribean Plate, Nazca Plate,
and Arabian Plate.
TECTONIC
TRAVEL
1. Mayon Volcano in Albay, Philippines
2. Great Barrier Reef in Queensland,
Australia
3. Sahara Desert in Northern Africa
4. Himalayaspassing through the
Nations of India, Pakistan,
Afghanistan, China, Bhutan and Nepal
 TECTONIC TRAVEL TABLE

Tourist Type of Crust Tectonic Plate/s

Attraction (Oceanic/
Continental)
1.

2.

3.

4.
 Tourist Type of Crust Tectonic Plate/s
Attraction (Oceanic/
Continental)

1.Mayon Continental Philippine Plate

Volcano Crust

2. The Great Oceanic Crust Australian Plate

Barrier Reef

3. Himalayas Continental Indian Plate and

Crust Eurasian Plate

5. Sahara Continental African Plate

Desert
1. What type of boundary results in the
formation of mountains?
2. What type of boundary results in the
formation of deep ocean trenches and
volcanoes?
3. What type of boundary results in the
formation of the mid ocean and sea floor
spreading?
4. What type of boundary results in the
formation of a fault line and earthquakes?
Plate Boundaries
Three types of plate boundary

• Divergent

• Convergent

• Transform
 Divergent Boundaries

• Plates spreading apart (“Rifting”)

– As plates move apart new material is
erupted to fill the gap
– (2 ocean plates) Results in sea floor
spreading and forms the mid ocean ridge.
– (2 continental plates) Results in
Divergent Boundaries
 Sea-Floor Spreading
• Where two ocean plates are
diverging (moving apart), molten
magma erupts, forming
underwater mountains under the
ocean called the mid-ocean ridge.
• As the oceans plates move further
and further apart, new ocean floor
is continuously added. This is
called sea-floor spreading.
 Convergent Boundaries
• Plates colliding together
• May form mountains, trenches,
and/or
volcanoes
Convergent Boundaries

• There are three styles of

convergent plate boundaries
– Continent-continent collision
– Continent-oceanic crust
collision
– Ocean-ocean collision
Continent-Continent Collision
• Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps,
Himalayas
Continent-Oceanic Crust Collision
• Called SUBDUCTION
• Forms volcanoes and deep ocean
trenches
Subduction

• Oceanic lithosphere
subducts underneath the
continental lithosphere
• Oceanic lithosphere
heats and melts forming
magma
• The magma rises
forming volcanoes
• E.g. The Andes
 Ocean-Ocean Plate Collision
• When two oceanic plates collide, one runs
over the other which causes it to sink into
the mantle forming a subduction zone.
• The subducting plate is bent downward to
form a very deep depression in the ocean
floor called a deep ocean trench.
• The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are
found along trenches.
– E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!
• Volcanoes are also formed resulting in the
formation of islands and volcanic ocean arc-A
chain of volcanoes that develop parallel to a trench
 Transform Boundaries
• Where plates slide past each other
• Earthquakes frequently occur

Above: View of the San Andreas

transform fault
 Real World Examples
• Divergent Plate Boundary
• Convergent Plate Boundary
• Transform Plate Boundary
Iceland: An example of continental rifting
• Iceland has a divergent
plate boundary running
through its middle= many
volcanoes
Himalayas: continent-continent
convergent boundary
Volcanoes and Plate
Tectonics…

…what’s the connection?

Pacific Ring of Fire

Volcanoes
form all
along the
ocean-
ocean
convergent
plate
boundaries
(subduction
zones).
Ocean-Continent Convergence

The Andes
Mountains/
volcanoes
Transform Plate Boundary

The San Andreas Fault

California, USA
Volcanoes are formed by:
- Subduction (Continental-Ocean and
Ocena-Ocean Plate Convergence)
- Rifting (Divergent Plates)
- Hotspots
Earthquakes and Plate
Tectonics…

…what’s the connection?

• As with volcanoes, earthquakes are not
randomly distributed over the globe

Figure showing
the distribution of
earthquakes
around the globe

• At the boundaries between plates, friction

causes them to stick together. When built up
energy causes them to break, earthquakes
occur.
 Plate Tectonics Summary
• The Earth is made up of 4 main layers (inner and
outer core, mantle, and crust)
• On the surface of the Earth are tectonic plates that
slowly move around the globe
• Plates are made of crust and upper mantle
(lithosphere)
• There are 2 types of plates (crust).
• There are 3 types of plate boundaries.
• Volcanoes and Earthquakes are closely linked to the
margins (or boundaries) of the tectonic plates.
Pacific Ring of Fire

Hotspot
volcanoes
 What are Hotspot Volcanoes?
• Hot mantle plumes breaching the
surface in the middle of a tectonic plate

The Hawaiian island chain are

examples of hotspot volcanoes.
Photo: Tom Pfeiffer / www.volcanodiscovery.com
 The tectonic plate moves over a fixed hotspot
forming a chain of volcanoes.

The volcanoes get younger from one end to the other.

Where do earthquakes form?

Figure showing the tectonic setting of earthquakes