Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics

Continental Movement

• Earth's tectonic plates move slowly, up to several inches per year
• Continents are part of these plates
• Continents have travelled great distances, over millions of years
• This is known as continental drift
• Alfred Wegener first developed theory of continental drift
• Wegener observed similarities in coastlines of continents
• Example: western Africa and Eastern South America
• Continents are still moving; some collide, others separate, others slide past
• This movement shapes Earth's landforms

Plate Collisions

• Collisions create different landforms.
• Example landforms: ocean trenches, mountain ranges.
• Two ocean plates colliding: one plate pushes under the other
• This creates deep valleys in the ocean floor (ocean trenches)
• Example: Pacific Plate under other plates, creating Mariana Trench
• Two continental plates colliding: builds up mountains
• Example: Himalayas in South Asia, from collision of massive plates

Plate Separation

• Separation of plates allows magma to rise and create landforms
• Example: volcanic islands such as Surtsey Island near Iceland
• Ocean plates and continental plates collide: Ocean plate drops below continental plate
• This creates a mountain range
• Example: Andes Mountains in South America, from South American and Nazca plates colliding

Landform Formation

• The collision of plates, or the separation of plates creates landforms, including ocean trenches, mountains, and volcanic islands.
• The Himalayas are still growing due to continuous plate movement

Explore the fascinating concepts of continental drift and plate tectonics through this quiz. Learn about the movement of Earth's tectonic plates, the theory proposed by Alfred Wegener, and how these movements create various landforms such as mountains and ocean trenches. Test your knowledge on how continents have shifted over millions of years and the geological processes involved.