Questions that you should be able to answer at the
end
of this lecture:
What are the basic parts of the definition of
plate tectonics?
What are the different kinds of plate
boundaries?
What are the different kinds of convergent
boundaries?
What are some examples of each kind of plate
boundaries?
What part of the Earth is the "plate"?
How fast do plates move?
What is the evidence for
plate tectonics?
What is the difference
between plate
tectonics and continental drift?
What is the history of our
knowledge
of movement of the surface of the Earth?
What are the proposed
mechanisms for
plate tectonics?
What is the favored
mechanism for plate
tectonics?
What other observations of
the Earth
are explained by plate tectonics?
Note: text in red will
not
be covered for the upcoming exam.
Plate Tectonics is one of the
cornerstones
of Geology. It helps explain (among other things) the
distribution
of land and ocean, many of the larger geomorphic features of both
continents
and oceans, why different igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic
rocks are
found in different places, and as such has revolutionized Geology
since
its discovery in the early 1960s. Understanding of Plate
Tectonics
is vital to understanding much of Geology today.
More Links to investigate Plate
Tectonics may be
found by clicking here: Plate
Tectonics
Simplified map of the world (part) - note
the
close correspondence between the coasts of South America and
southern Africa,
and North America and Europe/North Africa.
Africa moved to show the correspondence between
the
coasts of Africa and South America.
Africa and Europe moved to show the
correspondence
between the coasts of North America and Africa/Europe. The
correspondence
would be even closer if Greenland were moved towards North
America.
