THE EARTH'S LAYERS
The earth's layers are as
follows – The crust, mantle outer
core and Inner core. The mantle
can be further divided into 3 parts:
The uppermost solid mantle.
Asthenosphere, and lower mantle
(mesosphere). The uppermost solid
mantle is rigid whereas the
asthenosphere has some plasticity.
It could be described as partially
melted, and therefore can flow
slowly. Although the uppermost
mantle is of different composition
from the crust, they form a layer
called lithosphere.
THE TWO TYPES OF CRUST: OCEANIC AND CONTINENTAL
OCEANIC
- The oceanic crust is thinner (5 - 10 km) than the continental crust, however due to its
composition it is denser / heavier than the continental crust.
- It is mainly composed of: basalt, magnesium and oxygen.
- It is generally younger, because it is continuously formed at mid-ocean ridges and
recycled back into the mantle at subduction zones.
- Found beneath the ocean basins.
CONTINENTAL
- Thicker than the oceanic crust, averaging about 30-50km, and is lighter because it is
mostly composed of a lighter rock.
- Composed of granite rocks that contain lighter elements like aluminum and silicon.
- Older, with some parts billions of years old
- Forms the continents and continental shelves
PLATE TECTONIC THEORY
- The earth's lithosphere is fragmented into several segments called tectonic plates.
These tectonic plates are ‘floating’ above the asthenosphere which has a fluid-like
nature. Each lithospheric segment shares borders with other plates. We call these
tectonic plate boundaries.
- This theory explains how earthquakes, volcanoes and mountain belts are formed; it
predicts that most tectonic activity occurs along the boundaries between tectonic plates.
THE 7 MAJOR PLATES
– These plates were named after an ocean / continent or a big landmass that is part of
the plate:
● African plate
● Eurasian plate
● Australian plate
● North American plate
● South American plate
● Antarctic plate
● Pacific plate
THE 8 MINOR PLATES
– These plates are between the 7 major plates and cover a relatively smaller area than
the 7 major plates:
● Nazca plate
● Philippine sea plate
● Scotia plate
● Indian plate
● Arabian plate
● Cocos plate
● Caribbean plate
● Somali plate
TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARIES
1. Divergent plate boundary
● These plates are moving apart / away from each other. The interacting crusts
can be:
○ Oceanic to Oceanic
○ Continental to Continental
● It moves away due to many reasons:
○ Convection currents - Hot material rises (magma) causing the
lithosphere to lift and stretch.
○ Formation of rifts - As the plates move apart, a rift forms and
magma from the mantle rises to fill the gap
○ New crust formation - The magma cools and solidifies, creating
a new crust. This process continually adds new material to the
edges to the diverting plates
● The result of Divergent plate boundaries are the following earth formations:
○ Mid-Ocean Ridges - These are underwater mountain ranges
formed due to the upwelling of the magma.
○ Rift Valleys - When the tectonic plates move apart, it causes the
crust to break and form a valley.
○ Volcanic activity - The upwelling of magma can lead to volcanic
activity along the boundary.
○ Earthquakes - The movement and fracturing of the crust can
cause shallow earthquakes.
2. CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
● The plates move toward each other leading to the collisions of two plates and
one plate being forced beneath the other ( subduction ). The possible plate
collisions are:
○ Oceanic-Continental
○ Oceanic-Oceanic
○ Continental-Continental
● Due to the convection currents in the mantle the plates are forced to move and
collide.
● Subduction: Unique to convergent plate boundary, it is when an oceanic plate
converges with a continental plate. The denser oceanic plate is subdued beneath
the lighter continental plate which turns into an subduction zone.
● The following earth formations are the result of converging plates:
○ Mountain ranges - when two continental plates collide, they can
create large mountain ranges.
○ Ocean trenches - Subduction zones also create ocean trenches
○ Volcanic activity - Subduction zones lead to volcanic activity, as
the subducting plate melts it causes magma to form volcanoes.
○ Earthquakes - The intense pressure and friction at convergent
boundaries can cause powerful earthquakes.
3. TRANSFORM FAULT BOUNDARY
● Plates Slide past each other, they can move past each other or in the same
direction. However, they move at different rates causing the plates to slide or
grind past each other.
● Due to the build up of stress, it causes plates to slide past each other.
● The resulting earth formations from transform faults are:
○ Earthquakes – The primary result of transform boundaries, the
sliding motion causes significant seismic activity.
○ Fault lines - transforms boundaries create fault lines which
fracture the earths’ crust.
● The possible interacting crusts are:
○ Continental to Continental
