Geography Unit 2 Quiz Flashcards
What is the inner core made out of?
Iron and nickel
What material is in the mantle?
Molten rock/magma
What is the chronological order of the geological eras from youngest to oldest?
Cenozoic, Mesozoic, paleozoic, Precambrian
Explain the theory of continental drift by Alfred Wegner
That 300 million years ago, all of Earth’s land masses (which were in constant motion) collided and formed a supercontinent called Pangaea. about 200 million years ago Pangaea started to break apart and drifted to their present location
What are the four proofs of continental drift?
The apparent fit of the continents (most obvious ones is South America and Africa)
the coastlines of the continents appear to fit together like puzzle pieces
he found fossils of the same plants and animals on different continents and thought that they could only coexist in both places if they were joined together
there are mountains similar in size and age on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean (Appalachians in Canada and US, and the caledonian mountains in the northern british isles and europe)
Ice sheets covered parts of southern Africa, India, Australia and South America about 250 million years ago. He thought that the only way that that’s possible with them being so warm today was that at one time the continents were located closer to the South Pole.
For the theory of continental drift, what couldn’t Wegner prove?
he couldn’t explain what was driving continental drift
he couldn’t explain what was causing the drift was force was causing the continents to move
Explain the theory of plate tectonics by J. Wilson
that earth’s outer shell is made up of 20 plates. Most of these plates are made up of both continental and oceanic crust. They are floating on a layer of hot rock, several hundred kilometers under Earth’s surface. It is likely that convection currents caused by unequal distribution of heat within earth’s core that causes the plates to move
What moves the tectonic plates?
Convection currents (hot magma rises, cools, then sinks)
Where are the tectonic plates located?
tectonic plates are located beneath Earth’s Crust, located in the upper mantle
What are the types of tectonic plate movements?
Divergent, convergent, transform,
What is divergent tectonic plate movement?
two plates move apart
What is convergent tectonic plate movement?
two plates move toward each other
What is subduction?
subduction when two continental plates move towards each other and one plate slides under the other (most common with continental/oceanic plates with the oceanic plates sliding other and causing tsunamis)
What is transform tectonic plate movement?
the plates move along a transform plate boundary in opposite directions
Explain the Ring of Fire
Seventy-five percent of Earth’s volcanoes—more than 450 volcanoes—are located along the Ring of Fire.
Ninety percent of Earth’s earthquakes occur along its path, including the planet’s most violent and dramatic seismic events.
along tectonic plate boundaries
90% of all earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions happen here
because of there are many plates with fault lines
The only part of Canada in the Ring of Fire is British Columbia/West Coast
What landforms are created when tectonic plates collide?
Mountains
Islands
Trenches/ridges
What natural disasters happen when tectonic plates collide?
Earthquakes
Volcanic eruptions
Tsunamis
What natural disaster was Krakatoa and where did it happen?
Volcanic eruption, Indonesia
What natural disaster happened in Japan 2011?
Earthquake and tsunami
What natural disaster was Mount Vesuvius, and where did it happen?
Volcanic eruption, Pompeii
What natural disaster happened in Haida Gwaii/Queen Charlotte’s Islands?
Earthquake
What natural disaster happened in the Indian Ocean?
Tsunami
