Transcript Mountain Building and Plate Boundaries

Mountain Building and Plate Boundaries
Definitions-you can find these in your text
Active continental marginPassive continental marginConverging boundaryDiverging boundary-
Data Tables:
Continental
Mountain Range
Location
On/beside plate
boundary
Active/Passive
Continental
Margin
Diverging/
converging
boundary
Rocky
North American
Plate
N/A
Passive
N/A
Appalachian
North American
Plate
N/A
Passive
N/A
Andes
South American
Plate
Nazca & South
American Plates
Active
Converging
Atlas
African Plate
African &
Eurasian Plates
Active
Converging
Alps
Eurasian Plate
African &
Eurasian Plates
Active
Converging
Himalayan
Eurasian Plate
Eurasian &
Indian Plates
Active
Converging
Underwater Mountain
Range
Name the two plates the
ridge borders
Diverging/Converging
boundary
N. American & Eurasian
S. American & African
Diverging
Nazca & Pacific
Diverging
Southeast Indian Ocean
Ridge
Indian & Antarcrtic
Diverging
Southwest Indian Ocean
Ridge
African & Antarctic
Diverging
Mid-Atlantic Ridge
East Pacific Rise
Conclusion Questions:
(Are yours done in complete sentences?)
1.
The Andes Mountains are younger than the Appalachian
Mountains. What evidence is there on the physical world map that
supports this statement?
The Andes are on an active continental margin and are still forming.
The Appalachians were formed long ago when the eastern coast
of North America was an active continental margin, now it is
passive. The Appalachians are smaller because of weathering
and erosion over millions of years.
2. Would you expect to find extensive mountain building taking place in
Australia? Explain.
No, Australia is in the center of a plate and is surrounded by passive
continental margins.
3. Which mountain range is more likely to have active volcanoes, the
Andes or the Rockies? Explain.
The Andes are more likely to have active volcanoes. They are presently
on an active continental margin and volcanoes are often associated
with such margins. The Rockies are not near a plate margin.
4. Active continental margins are also called seismic continental
margins while passive continental margins are called aseismic
continental margins. To what occurrence does the term seismic
usually refer? What must aseismic mean? Explain why these are
appropriate terms to apply to their respective plate boundaries.
Seismic-the boundary is associated with earthquake activity
Aseismic-a boundary that lacks earthquake activity
It is appropriate to name an active continental margin a seismic
continental margin because then can result in earthquakes.
It is appropriate to name a passive continental margin an aseismic
continental margin because they would not be expected to have
earthquakes.