APES Plate Tectonics

Close examination of a globe often results in the observation that most of the continents seem to fit together like a puzzle: the west African coastline seems to snuggle nicely into the east coast of South America and the Caribbean sea; and a similar fit appears across the Pacific. The fit is even more striking when the submerged continental shelves are compared rather than the coastlines. In 1912 Alfred Wegener (1880- 1930) noticed the same thing and proposed that the continents were once compressed into a single protocontinent which he called Pangaea (meaning "all lands"), and over time they have drifted apart into their current distribution. He believed that Pangaea was intact until the late Carboniferous period, about 300 million years ago, when it began to break up and drift apart. However, Wegener's hypothesis lacked a geological mechanism to explain how the continents could drift across the earth’s surface as he proposed.

In this Investigation you will plot the locations of recent earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain ranges on a world map. These events are not evenly distributed over the Earth. You will be asked to look for patterns in the locations of these occurrences globally and discuss how they affect the planet and its inhabitants.

Part One 1. Go to the following web site: http://neic.usgs.gov/neis/epic/epic_global.html. On your world map, indicate with a blue circle all the major earthquakes (>6.7) for 2006 2007. You’ll need to scroll down to “Optional Search Parameters”.

2. Plot the location of the following volcanoes, using small red triangles:

Mt Etna, Italy, 37.73N, 15.00E Blup Blup, Papau New Guinea, 3.5S, 144. E Ayelu, Ethiopia, 10.082N, 40.702E Pinatubo, Philippines, 15.13N, 120.35E Likaiu, Kenya, 2.17N, 36.36E Askj, Iceland, 65.3N, 16.75W Lascar, Chile, 23.32S, 67.44W El Chichon, Mexico, 17.4N, 93.2W Redoubt, USA, 60.5N, 152.7W Fuji, Japan, 35.4N, 138.7E Lassen Peak, USA, 40.5N, 121.5W Ararat, Turkey, 39.70N, 44.28E Mt. Pelee, W. Indies, 14.8N, 61.1W Savo, Solomon Islands, 19.0S, 159.8E

3. Go on line to find (and label on your map) the following mountain ranges: Alps, California Coastal Ranges, Andes, Atlantic Mid-Ocean Ridge, Cascades, and Himalayas.

Analysis Questions 1a. What patterns do you observe in the locations of these earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges? b. Why do these events seem common in some areas on Earth and rare in others? c. Using the Earth’s plate boundaries image below compare your plotted positions with plate boundary locations. Describe any correlations.

d. How does the theory of Plate Tectonics explain these similarities of location? Describe how the theory of Plate Tectonics is strengthened by these patterns.

2. What is meant by the term Ring of Fire? 3a. How do Ayelu and Likaiu volcanoes fit into the pattern you have observed? b. What processes are going on in eastern Africa? Explain what is meant by a triple junction. c. About two hundred million years ago a similar process occurred. (Refer back to the image of the historical maps of Earth’s drifting continents.) Describe the process.

4a. What are hot spots? Look at the Geological map of the Hawaiian Islands below. What do hot spots tell us about plate movement?

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b. Refer to Image of the Snake River Plain below. How has the hot spot in the Yellowstone region given clues about the movement of the North American Plate? YNP is in the upper right hand corner of the image c. Scientists have determined that plates move at different speeds. Some travel as slow as 2cm/yr and others as fast as 15 cm/yr. Describe how hot spots could be used to determine the speed of plate movements> d. What information and measurements would you need to calculate the rate of movement?

5a. How did the Himalaya and Karakoram mountain ranges form? Twenty-two mountains in these mountain ranges are 8000 m (26,240 ft) or higher, with Mt. Everest being the tallest on Earth at 8850 m (29,028 ft). Why are these ranges so high even when they are not near a coastline? b. Compare the Urals, another range in the list that is not near a continental edge, to the Himalaya and Karakoram. The highest mountain in the Urals is Narado Mountain at 1,895 m (6,215 ft. Why are the Himalaya and Karakoram so much higher than the Urals?

6. How did the Katahdin region of the Appalachian Mountains form?

7. Compare and contrast the geological formation of - Seven Hundred Acre Island, Islesboro - Acadia National Park - Vinalhaven Island

Helpful Website Q 6,7 http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/LivingWith/VolcanicPast/Places/volcanic_past_mai ne.html http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/mgs.html