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Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics Articles, Theory, Plate Diagrams, Maps, Teaching Ideas

Popular Plate Tectonic Items

Great Rift Valley

The East Africa Rift System: Learn about the East Africa Rift.

What Is The Moho?

What is the Moho? Learn about the Mohorovicic Discontinuity.

Cities Moved by Quake

South American cities move during earthquake.

South American Cities Moved by Earthquake: Some moved ten feet westward.

Supervolcano In Italy

Supervolcano in Italy: A fossil supervolcano beneath the Italian Alps.

Growth of the Andes

How Fast Did the Andes Rise? Oxygen isotope studies reveal a much slower rate of rise.

Sun & Moon Triggers?

Can the Sun and Moon Trigger Faults? Minute stresses might be triggers.

Mariana Trench

Exploring the Mariana Trench: A robotic vehicle dives 6.8 miles down - a new world record!

Magma Formation

Depth of Magma Formation in Subduction Zones: Chlorite reveals the depth of magma formation in subuction zones.

San Andreas Map

Google Map of the San Andreas Fault: Zoom in to see the fault trace plotted atop of a map or satellite images.

San Andreas Article

What is the San Andreas Fault? Map, photos and description of the fault by Dr. David Lynch.

Tsunami Causes

What Causes a Tsunami? Learn how plate motions trigger earthquakes and tsunamis.

Strange Fault Behavior

Fault Behavior: Some faults appear strong but behave like weak faults.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes: A page that links to all of our volcano articles and to the best volcano information that we could find.

If it is not grown, it is mined.

Carbonatite Lava

Carbonatite Lava Flows at Oldoinyo Lengai: These carbon dioxide-rich lavas are some of the most fluid in the world. They flow like motor oil.

Hawaiian Hot Spot

How did the Hawaiian Islands Form? The power of a moving plate over a stationary hot spot.

Drilling To The Moho

Drilling to Earth's Mantle: New technology might make drilling to the Moho possible.

Dynamic Earth

Earth's Core & Magnetic Field: Exploring Earth's internal structure & magnetic field.

Teaching Tectonics

Teaching Plate Tectonics with Easy-to-Draw Illustrations: Most students love to draw and are visual learners. Take advantage of that in a draw-with-me lesson.

Oldest Piece of Mantle

Oldest Piece of Mantle: A 4.5 billion-year-old slab of mantle under Baffin Island, Canada.

Ocean Rifting on Land

Ocean Rifting on Land: A new rift in Ethiopia is analogous to an ocean basin rift.

Salton Sea Earthquake

San Andreas Fault Hazard: Faults transfer strain below the Salton Sea.

Age Of The Andes

How Old Are The Andes Mountains? New research suggests that the growth of the Andes Mountains began much earlier than 7 MYA.

New Madrid

New Madrid Seismic Zone: An earthquake hazard review for the NMSZ.

Plate Boundaries

Zoom In On Plate Boundaries: Explore divergent, convergent and transform plate boundaries with satellite images and maps.

Oil is found first in the mind.

Newest Plate Tectonic Items

Elastic Rebound

Elastic Rebound Theory and how it applies to earthquakes on the San Andreas Fault.

Earth's Internal Heat

Earth's Internal Heat: About half of Earth's heat is produced by decay of radioactive materials.

Sumatra Earthquake

2004 Sumatra Earthquake was one of the deadliest in history because of sediment deposits.

Tohoku Earthquake

Tohoku Earthquake: New data on the mechanics of Japan's March, 2011 M9.0 earthquake.

Quartz & Tectonics

Quartz & Plate Tectonics: Water, heat and abundant quartz make rocks flow more easily.

Do Hotspots Move?

Do Hotspots Move? Researchers drill hotspots to determine if they move.

Ground Deformation

Deformation Mapping by GPS and satellite for the 7.2 El Mayor-Cucapha Earthquake.

Deep Seismic Waves

Minerals, Pressure and Seismic Waves: Extreme conditions change wave velocity.

Earthquake Frequency

San Andreas Quake Frequency: Earthquake frequency might be higher than previously believed.

Layer Cake Continents

Layer Cake Continents: The North American continent has 3 BYO rock over 1 BYO rock.

Guatemala Jade

Tectonic History In Jade: Dates of metamorphism and fault motion locked in jade.

San Andreas Fault

San Andreas Fault Behavior: Trenching studies reveal fault behavior.

New Madrid Mystery

New Madrid Mystery: Why do large earthquakes occur far from an active plate boundary?

The present is the key to the past.

Pacific Earthquakes

Pacific Earthquake Triggers: Subduction zone core samples reveal earthquake triggers.

Driving Forces

What Drives the Plates? A new force is discovered that could propel Earth's tectonic plates.

Salton Sea

Salton Sea Earthquakes may have been triggered by flooding and sedimentaion.

Japan Tsunami

Tsunami of Unexpected Power: Unusual fault movement gave Japan's tsunami more "punch".

Japan Earthquake

The Japan Earthquake shifted Earth's mass resulting in a shorter day.

Pangea Rifting

Pangea rifting produced intense volcanic activity that doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide.

Fissures on Enceladus

Active Fissures on Enceladus: Saturn's moon has "hot" fissures that spray water.

Indian Ocean Tsunamis

Indian Ocean Tsunamis: Deadly tsunamis triggered by earthquakes and volcanoes.

Saudi Volcanic Field

Harrat Lunayyir: 30,000 eathquakes and rifting reveal activity in this volcanic field.

Pacific Tsunamis

Pacific Tsunamis: This ocean is surrounded by plate boundaries, that can produce tsunami.

Pacific Tsunami Threat

Pacific Tsunami Threat: Alaska earthquakes can impact the Pacific Basin.

Geology underlies it all.