Mountain Belts and Plate Tectonics Flashcards
what are the two types of crust?
continental crust and oceanic crust
How many major tectonic
plates on Earth’s surface?
15
what are the 15 major plates floating in the mantle?
Nazca
Indian
Philippine
Eurasian
Australian
African
Antarctic
Pacific
Arabia
South American
North American
Juan de Fuca
Cocos
Caribbean
Scotia
What causes the movements of plates?
convection currents
a process that
involves the movement
of energy from one
place to another.
convection current
Convection currents on Earth occur
in the mantle of the Earth
The heat energy can be transferred by the process of
convection
by the difference occurring in
temperature between the two parts of the fluid.
they smash together and
create mountains
continental vs. continental
it leads to the formation
of chains of volcanic islands
known as island arcs.
Oceanic vs. oceanic
This process,
called subduction, occurs at the
oceanic trenches. The entire
region is known as a subduction zone.
Oceanic vs. continental
HOW MOUNTAIN BELTS
ARE FORMED?
two lithospheric plates
have converged
Mountain + Mountain
Mountain Ranges
Mountain Range + Mountain Range
Mountain Belt
One of those peaks is Mount
Everest, the world’s highest,
with an elevation of 29,035
feet.
Himalayas, Nepali Himalaya
Located along the
entire western coast
of South America, the
Andes mountain range
is about 4,500 miles
(7,242 kilometers)
long.
Andes
