Continental Boundaries & Drift Flashcards
name the major plates in alphabetical order
African plate, antarctic plate, Eurasian plate, Indo-Australian plate, North American plate, Pacific plate, South American plate
How many major plates are there
seven
Hotter less dense material rises while cooler denser material sinks moves by cm/yr.
mantle convection
What causes plates to move?
moving mantle material aka basal friction
How slow does the slowest plate (Scotia) move?
0 cm/yr
How fast does the fastest plate (Indian) move
100 cm/yr
Secondary mechanism, gravity pushes oceanic plate away, higher elevation, Mid-ocean____
ridge push
The oceanic plate is pulled into the mantle and is destroyed/ converted into mantle material due to subduction. Also a secondary mechanism.
slab pull
What do characteristics of plates depend on?
location/way they move/ Oceanic or Continental
2 plats grind past each other.
transform boundary
plates are not created nor destroyed
transform boundary
powerful earthquakes are created
transform boundary
potential energy that builds then slips
transform boundary
no volcanoes
transform boundary
San Andreas Fault
transform boundary
frequent weak earthquakes that cause cities to move closer together
transform boundary
two plates move away from each other
divergent boundaries
small volcanoes & shallow/weak earthquakes
divergent boundaries
two types of divergent boundaries
1)oceanic-oceanic
2)continental-continental
Seafloor spreading and new floor built
oceanic- oceanic divergent
new oceanic basin
oceanic-oceanic divergent
How new crust is formed
oceanic-oceanic divergent
mid-ocean ridge that forms at the spreading center
oceanic-oceanic divergent