Plate Tectonics

Continental drift, plates, earthquakes and volcanoes

Plate Tectonics

The Earth's crust is broken into large tectonic plates. These plates move slowly. Where plates meet, we get earthquakes, volcanoes and mountains. This movement shapes our world over millions of years.

Example

Plate Boundaries

• Divergent (moving apart): Mid-Atlantic Ridge, East African Rift Valley • Convergent (colliding): Himalayas • Transform (sliding past): San Andreas Fault Evidence: continents fit like puzzle pieces, same fossils on different continents

Note

Remember

Africa and South America were once joined (Gondwana). The East African Rift is where Africa is slowly splitting apart. SA is in the middle of the African plate, so we have few earthquakes.

Key Vocabulary

Tectonic plateA large piece of Earth's crust that moves slowly

EarthquakeShaking of the ground caused by plate movements

VolcanoAn opening where hot rock erupts from Earth's surface

Continental driftThe theory that continents move over time

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Tectonic plate

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