PHENOMENA RESPONSIBLE FOR PLATE THEORY OF PLATE – provided how plates move

MOTION around though geologic time

J. TUSO WILSON – one who formally applied plate
1. MANTLE CONVECTION – occurs because
asthenosphere is plastic, therefore it can flow, tectonics
cold and denser materials sink because of the WILSON CYCLE – cyclic rifting in continents that
difference in density formed ocean basins and subduction that resulted to
destruction or closure of basins, explains why Earth does
2. SLAB PULL
not shrink or expand, explains opening and closing of
3. RIDGE PUSH
ocean basins
Ocean basins Opening  Widening  Ultimate destruction

OCEAN BASINS – regions below sea level 1. Embryonic – Rifting

Continental crust thins and separates
1. ACTIVE 2. Young – Young Sea
2. PASSIVE – justs collects sediments As they separate, dense oceanic crust fills the
gap
Atlantic ocean & Arctic ocean – active, growing 3. Mature – Mid-Ocean Ridges
Mediterranean Sea, Pacific Ocean – shrinking Oceanic crust continues to divide regions of
Gulf of mexico – inactive continental crust. Separated continental islands
are essential for global biodervisity
TERMINOLOGIES 4. Subduction – Ocean Subduction
a) OCEAN RIDGES – continuous mountain As oceanic crust becomes heavy, it subducts.
chains located under sea 5. Terminal Stage – Continent Subduct
b) ABYSALL HILL/ PLAIN – small elevated As oceanic crust subducts, it begins to close the
landform, underwater plain ocean basin.
c) SEAMOUNT – large submerged volcanic 6. End Stage – Continent Collision
mountain After ocean basins close, continents press
d) GUYOT – submerged volcanic mountain with together to form mountain chains.
flat top
3 TYPES OF PLATES BOUNDARIES BASED ON
MAJOR PLATES MOVEMENT
1. African 1. CONVERGENT
2. Antarctic
 plates move towards eachother
3. Eurasian
 two lithospheric plates collide
4. Indian
 plates are destroyed
5. Australian
6. North America
 oceanic-oceanic – denser plate sinks beneath
7. Pacific
the lighter and heads back to mantle
8. South America
 subduction – one oceanic, one continental, less
9. Ambian
dense overrides the denser one
10. Caribbean
1) oceanic-oceanic – trench
11. Cacus
2) continental-oceanic – magmatic arc
12. Juan de Fuca
3) continental-continental – forms a
13. Nasca
14. Philippine COLLISION MOUNTAIN BELT
collision zones, neither subducts
15. Sootia
a) Himalayan mountain range –
Indian and Eurasian plate
Wilson Cycle

SUBDUCTION RESULTS TO
 subduction zone – where subduction TRANSFORM
happens  plates slide past eachother, resembling a strike-
o forms volcanic arc – chain of volcanoes slip fault
formed by subduction  referred to as big strike-slip fault or transform
o island arc – subduction of oceanic plate fault
beneath another oceanic plate  crust is broken but no materials is created nor
o continental volcanic arc – oceanic destroyed
plate beneath continental plate  San Andreas fault

o subduction zodes are marked RING OF FIRE

topographically with a trench
 direct result of plate tectonics
 plates are destroyed
Philippines  convergent, island arc
 mountain range
Mariana Trench  deepest portion of Earth
 Himalayan mountain range – collision of Indian
Youngest area  located on mid-ocean ridge; oldest are
and Eurasian plate
near continents, next to a subduction zone

DIVERGENT
 2 plates move away from each other
 lava comes out and eventually solidified into
basalt
 creates new plates in the process of SEAFLOOR
SPREADING

Most prominent: ATLANTIC OCEAN/ MID-

ADLANTIC RIDGE

1) Oceanic-Oceanic – oceanic plate is

subducted under another plate which
causes a deep trench
2) Continental-Continental – thick
continental plate is arched upwards from
the convection current’s lift

 as plates pull apart, lithosphere cracks,

producing normal faults

 RIFT AREAS – where continents begin to

stretch, break apart, and widen through time
 marked with normal faults and basins
but there are no fissures
 East African Rift System