Tectonic plate boundaries and features

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  • Created by: EEC2145
  • Created on: 27-01-23 14:40
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  • Plate boundaries
    • Convergent
      • Oceanic-Oceanic
        • Caribbean plate + South American plate
          • Puerto Rico Trench (8.6km deep, 280km long)
            • One plate (older one) is subducted under the other causing the other to bend, forming a v-shape between them
        • Ocean trenches
          • One plate (older one) is subducted under the other causing the other to bend, forming a v-shape between them
        • Obduction
          • The sea floor sediments are scraped off the subducted plate (South American) forming an accretionary wedge on the other
        • Subduction
          • As the plate is subducted the sea water evaporates lowering the melting point of the mantle, producing magma
            • This then causes explosive volcanic eruptions
          • As the South American plate is subducted it causes friction against the Caribbean plate... Earthquakes!
            • Benioff zone
              • Where many earthquakes occur from the subduction
        • Andesitic lava
          • 1000*C
          • Viscous
          • Produces pyroclastic flows e.g. Monserrat 1990s
      • Oceanic-continental
        • Nazcan plate + South American plate
          • Off the coast of Chile
        • Oceanic is forced under the continental
          • Shallow focus earthquakes in the Benioff zone.
        • Accretionary wedge
          • Formed from the obduction off the oceanic plate
        • Subducted plate melts causing andestic lava
          • Very explosive eruptions
            • Lascar in Chile
          • Small amounts of lava, lots of ash
          • Viscous, trapping gas bubbles making it hard for them to escape
        • Andes
      • Continental- continental
        • Indian plate and Eurasian plate
          • Himilayas
            • Formed from the obduction off the oceanic plate
        • No subduction as both plates are of equal density
          • Crustal shortening
            • The 2 plates collide and as neither is subducted they "fold" up making the crust thicker in that area
              • Himilayas
                • Andes
            • No volcanic activity as no plate is subducted under the other
              • Any magma that does rise solidifies before it reaches the surface of the thickened crust
          • Shallow focus earthquakes as the 2 plates are still moving into each other
      • Divergent
        • Continental
          • Afar region, Arabian, Somalian and Nubian plates
            • Red Sea is formed from the Arabian and African plates moving apart
              • Causing the area between them to become a graben that dropped below sea level
                • Indian Ocean then flooded it forming the Red Sea
            • Dead Sea in Israel is the lowest point on the continental surface (-400m)
            • Plates here are moving due to a hotspot (rising mantle plume) forcing the plates to rise and split which separates them
          • The crust is uplifted and stretched causing a sunken valley (graben or rift valley)
          • Earthquakes
          • Flood basalts
            • A hotspot causes the lithosphere to stretch and fracture causing lava to pour out, the lava the forms the flood basalt
        • Oceanic-oceanic
          • Transform fault
            • A break in the mid-ocean ridges
            • Earthquakes as the faults displace the ridge and energy is released as an earthquake
          • Mid-ocean ridges
            • Rate of spreading is determined by the amount and rate of rising magma
            • Mountain chains are found along them
              • 3000m above the sea bed in some places
              • They have a combined length of 60,000km
          • Pillow lava
            • Rounded mounds formed by magma erupting directly onto the sea bed and cooling instantly
          • Black smoker
            • A hydrothermal vent
            • Sea water seeps into rifts and is super heated, re-emerges on the ocean floor containing metal sulphides
          • Underwater rift valley
            • Rigid lithosphere is put under stress and fractures, a block of rock drops down

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