Oceanic and

Continental
Crust

Oceanic crust
The rocks of the oceanic crust are very young, not older
than 200 million years, compared with the rocks of
the continental crust 3.6 billion years old.
Thedecompression
occursbeneathriftsin
thecrust,suchasthose
foundatthemidocean
ridges,anditis
throughtheseriftsthat
lavaisextrudedonto
thesurfacetocreate
newoceancrust.

Oceanic crust
Oceanic crust is continuously being created at mid-ocean

ridges. At these ridges, magma rises into the upper

mantle and crust, as the plates diverge. As it moves away
from the ridge, the lithosphere becomes cooler and
denser, and sediment gradually builds on top of it.
The youngest oceanic lithosphere is at the oceanic
ridges, and is progressively older away from the ridges.

Continental crust
The continents include a wide range of rock types,

including granitic igneous rocks, sedimentary

rocks, and the metamorphic rocks formed by the
alterations of both. They contain a lot of quartz, a
mineral absent in oceanic crust.
This core foundation is often referred to as a shield or
basement rock. Rocks found in the shields were
formed during the Precambrian and are some of the
oldest rocks found on the Earth.

Continental crust
The first continental rocks were the result of repeated

melting, cooling, and remixing of oceanic crust,

driven by volcanic activity above mantle convection
cells, which were much more numerous and vigorous
than todays.
Geologists believe that the major continental cores were
formed by the early solidification of the lighter
components of magma between 3.9 and 3.8 billion
years ago.

Continental crust
The continental shields are generally covered by

younger sedimentary deposits. These sedimentary

rocks constitute the interior platforms of the
continents

Evaluation Question

The two types of

crust are __________
and ________ crust.

The crust that is found on

the continents and at the
beginning of the oceans (the
continental shelf) is
________________.

ContinentalCrust

__________is
continuouslybeing
createdatmidocean
ridges.

Oceanic Crust

Deformation
Stress is the amount of force

per unit area on a given

material
The process by which the shape
of a rock changes because of
stress is called deformation

Deformation
Two types of deformation can

occur to rocks under stress

Layers can bend when stress
is applied to them
When too much stress is applied,
they can reach their elastic limit
and break

Compression & Tension

Compression is the type of stress

that occurs when an object is

squeezed
Tension is stress that occurs
when forces act to stretch an object
such

Folding
Folding is the bending of rock layers

because of stress in the Earths crust

Scientists assume that all rock layers
start off horizontal
So when scientists see a fold, they
know deformation has occurred

Types of Folds
There are two main types of folds
Anticlines,

upward, arching

fold
Synclines, downward, troughlike folds

Faulting
Some rock layers break

when too much stress is

applied to them.
The surface along which a
rocks break and slide past
each other is called a fault

Faulting
The two sides of a fault are

known as the hanging wall and

the footwall
The type of fault that forms is
dependent on where the hanging
and footwall are located

Types of Faulting
There are three types of

faults that occur

Normal Faults
Reverse Faults
Strike-Slip Faults

Normal Faults
When rocks are pulled apart

because of tension, normal

faults often form
When a normal fault moves, it
causes the hanging wall to move
down relative to the footwall

Reverse Fault
When rocks are pushed together by

compression, reverse faults often form

When a reverse fault moves, it causes the
hanging wall to move up relative to the
footwall
Special type of reverse fault occurs
when the hanging walls continues to be
pushed over top of footwall called a
thrust fault

Strike-Slip Fault
Forms when opposing forces cause

rock to break and move

horizontally
If you were standing on one side of
the fault when it moved, the ground
on the other side would appear to
move to your left or right

Thrust Fault

Plate Tectonics & Mountain Building

When tectonic plates collide, land

features that start as folds and

faults, can eventually become large
mountain ranges
When tectonic plates undergo
compression and tension, they
can form mountains in several ways

Folded Mountains
Form when rock layers are

squeezed together and pushed

upward
These mountains form at
convergent plate boundaries
Appalachian Mountains 390
million years ago

Fault-Block Mountains
When tectonic forces put enough tension

on the Earths crust, a large number of

normal faults can occur
Fault-Block mountains form when
tension causes large blocks of the Earths
crust to drop down relative to other
blocks
Often leaves sharp, jagged peaks

Volcanic Mountains
Located at convergent plate

boundaries where oceanic crust sinks

into the asthenosphere at
subduction zones
The rock that is melted at subduction
zones forms magma which rises to the
surface and erupts

Volcanic Mountains
Sometimes these mountains can rise

above the sea and become islands

A majority of the tectonically active
volcanic mountains have formed
around the Pacific Plate which is
known as the Ring of Fire

Uplift and Subsidence

Uplift is the rising of regions

of Earths crust to higher

elevations
Subsidence is known as the
sinking of Earths crust to
lower regions

Uplifting of Depressed Rock

One way areas rise without deforming

is a process known as rebound

Rebound occurs when the crust slowly
springs back to its previous elevation
Rebound happens when a weight is
removed from a region ( glacial
melting)

Tectonic Letdown
Subsidence can occur when the

lithosphere becomes stretched

A rift zone is a set of deep cracks that
forms at a divergent plate
boundary
As the plates move apart, the rift zone
begins to subside between the plates

Question 1
What are two types of

deformation?

Answer
Layers of rock can bend when

stress is applied to them and if too

much pressure is applied then the
layers can break

Question 2
What type of fold has an upward,

arching fold that looks like the

letter A?
A. Syncline
B. Monocline
C. Anticline

Answer
The answer is C. An anticline has

an upward, arching fold

Question 3
What type of fault forms when

opposing forces cause rock to

break and move horizontally?
A. Normal Fault
B. Reverse Fault
C. Strike-Slip Fault

Answer
The answer is C. A strike-slip fault

is formed when opposing forces

cause the rock to break and move
horizontally.

GAMES

C
N
B
F
O
L
D
C

V B
R S
B U
MF
A S
GU
MS
A B

C Z ONR OC
E HC R U U O
S GE Y J S N
S L A J GGS
RT NS V GF
F O I C Z GN
L L C F DUG
UT E S XA J

CROSS
WORD
MAGMA
OCEANIC
FAULT
FOLD
CRUST

And thats all

thank you