Theory Of Tectonic Plates Flashcards
What is the surface of the earth
A thin layer of moving plates
What are seismologists
Scientists who study earthquakes
Who created continental drift
Alfred Wegener a German scientist
What did Alfred say about continental drift
Millions of years ago all of the continents collided to from one super continent. He called it pangeia. They then started to break off into different positions.
How did Alfred try to prove his theory
1: he saw that the jigsaw fit between South America and Africa
2: He found fossils of the same plants and animals on both continents
3: There were ice sheets in Africa,India,Australia,south America about 250 million years ago
Who and in what year came up with plate tectonics
J.Tuzo Wilson in 1968
How did Tuzo prove plate tectonics
He proved convection currents which is the force moves plates by the unequal distribution of heat within the mantle
Explain folding
When the earth forces raise or lower continents they bend rock layers into folds
Explain faulting
Sometimes the earths pressure is so great that they form breaks to form a steel sided escarpment
