ENDOGENIC PROCESSES

I. DEFINITION:
- Formation of mountains, spreading
of the continents, and ocean floor
II. CAUSES OF CRUST DEFORMATION
1. PLATE TECTONIC THEORY

2. Continental Drift
- 1912 theory by Alfred Wegener
A. Tectonics- is the study of the processes that - Earth once had a supercontinent (all connected)
deform the Earth’s crust. called “Pangaea”.
- Continental plates move around, so the Earth
B. Plate Tectonic Theory- explains that the
looked different in the past.
lithosphere was so brittle that it was divided
- Jigsaw puzzle
into major plates.

What are tectonic plates made of?

Plates are made of rigid lithosphere – formed of the

crust and the extreme upper mantle

“Plates” of lithosphere are moved around by

the underlying hot mantle convection cells

Concrete evidences that support Wegener’s

assumption were discovered…

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 a. Continental Fit e. Glacial Evidences
 Close resemblance between coastlines of
continents between sides of Atlantic ocean.
 Eastern shorelines of South America and the
western shorelines of Africa.

 Scrubs and scratches created as plates slides

along the surface are found in different
continents.
3. Sea floor spreading

b. Similarity of rock layers and

mountain ranges
 Found in continents across the ocean.
 Discovered on both South America and Africa.
 Rocks could have been formed in the same
place in the past then separated from each 4. Plate Boundaries
other. A. Divergent
c. Mountain Ranges that are of the same age,
structure and rock types
 Found in South America and Africa
 The folded Appalachian Mountains
 Mountain Ranges found in eastern Greenland,
Iceland, Great Britain and Norway - Divergent boundaries are where plates
d. Fossils of extinct plants and animals move away from each other
i. Mesosaurus
ii. Cynognathus
iii. Lystrosaurus
iv. Glossopteris

-As the plates pull apart, hot molten material can

rise up this newly formed pathway to the surface -
causing volcanic activity.

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 B. Convergent - Forms Volcanoes
- Called Subduction
- At a convergent boundary where continental
crust pushes against oceanic crust, the oceanic
crust which is thinner and more dense than the
continental crust, sinks below the continental
crust.
- Convergent boundaries are where the - This is called a Subduction Zone.
plates move towards each other - The oceanic crust descends into the mantle at a
There are three styles of convergent plate rate of centimetres per year. This oceanic crust is
boundaries called the “Subducting Slab”
Continent-continent collision - When the subducting slab reaches a depth of
- Forms mountains, e.g. European Alps, around 100 kilometres, it dehydrates and
Himalayas releases water into the overlying mantle wedge
(Presenter: explain all of this using the diagram).
- The addition of water into the mantle wedge
changes the melting point of the molten
material there forming new melt which rises up
into the overlying continental crust forming
volcanoes.
- Subduction is a way of recycling the oceanic
crust. Eventually the subducting slab sinks down
into the mantle to be recycled. It is for this
- When continental crust pushes against reason that the oceanic crust is much younger
continental crust both sides of the convergent than the continental crust which is not recycled.
boundary have the same properties (think back
to the description of continental crust: thick Ocean-ocean collision
and buoyant). Neither side of the boundary
wants to sink beneath the other side, and as a
result the two plates push against each other
and the crust buckles and cracks, pushing up
(and down into the mantle) high mountain
ranges. For example, the European Alps and
Himalayas formed this way.
Continent-oceanic crust collision - Forms trench
- When two oceanic plates collide, one runs over
the other which causes it to sink into the mantle
forming a subduction zone.
- The worlds deepest parts of the ocean are found
along trenches.

E.g. The Mariana Trench is 11 km deep!

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 C. Transform C. Reverse Fault

- Transform boundaries are where the plates

slide past each other.
- Convergent boundary
- The third type of boundary are transform
D. Thrust Fault
boundaries, along which plates slide past each
other.
- The San Andreas fault, adjacent to which the
US city of San Francisco is built is an example of
a transform boundary between the Pacific
plate and the North American plate.

- Convergent boundary

FOLDS
- A fold can be defined as a bend in rock that is
the response to compressional forces. Folds are
most visible in rocks that contain layering.

Causes of Geologic Folds

FAULTS • The folds arise as a result of the tectonic
A. Strike-slip fault pressure and stress in the rocks and rather than
fracture, they fold. They are easily visualized by
the loss of horizontality of the strata. When
tectonic forces acting on sedimentary rocks are a
number of characteristic forms. Sedimentary
rocks are more flexible than the metamorphic,
and when the thrust is not intense enough to
- Transform boundary move them fold as if they were a piece of paper.
B. Normal Fault
Types of Geologic Fold

1. Anticline

- Divergent boundary
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 - A fold that is convex up and has its oldest 6. Isoclinal fold
beds at its core. - similar to
2. Syncline symmetrical
folds, but
these folds
both have
the same
angle and
are parallel
- a fold with younger layers closer to the center to each
of the structure. Synclines are typically a other.
downward fold. 7. Plunging fold
3. Monocline

- local warping in horizontal strata. Rock beds

lying at two level separated by steep - A fold whose axis plane is not horizontal
inclined limbs. (not Parallel to sea level).
4. Chevron Fold 8. Dome and Basin

- are a structural feature characterized by

repeated well behaved folded beds with - the fold is in a dome shape, like an inverted
straight limbs and sharp hinges
bowl.
5. Recumbent Fold
9. Ptygmatic Fold

- has an essentially horizontal axial plane

- Folds are chaotic and random

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5. Internal Heat 2. Heat Transfer
- Hot liquid rock pushes itself
to Earth’s cold crust.
- Happens at convergent
boundaries.
3. Flux Melting
- Solid rock melts into magma
through the addition of water or other
volatiles(carbon dioxide) causing the rocks
to melt.

- Temperature in the inner part of the Earth

is greater than the temperature on the
surface of the sun.

Heat from the inner is coming from:

a) Heat that was left during the formation of

the Earth.
b) The gravitational pressure on the core
Magma after its formation
caused by the tidal forces of the sun.
c) The radioactive decay of elements in the - Molten rock leaves the upper mantle and
core. crust through intrusion and extrusion.

FORMATION OF MAGMA 1. Intrusion

1. Decompression Melting Magma can intrude through sedimentary rocks
- Hot magma raises above where pressure is when it cools and solidifies it is called pluton.
lower than areas of high pressure. a. Pluton- crystallized magma found beneath the
Earth’s crust.

- Hot magma raises above where pressure is

lower than areas of high pressure.
b. Forms the intrusive igneous
- the mantle rock melts and forms magma.
rocks
- Rifting movement
- Often occurs at divergent boundaries.

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 2. Extrusion - Falls to the ground close to volcano.
- The most common way for magma to escape
or extrude to the Earth’s surface is through
lava flow.
- When it cools it forms volcanic rock known as
extrusive igneous rock as well as a volcanic
glass.

ASH

Volcanoes - small fragments from large eruptions can

travel hundreds of miles.
MAGMA CHAMBER

- an area beneath the Earth’s surface where

magma (molten rock) collects in a pool of molten
rock.
- Due to extreme pressure, it may fracture the
surrounding rocks and may become volcano.

TEPHRA

- explosive eruptions blast fragments of rock

high into the air.

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 TYPES OF VOLCANOES (based on appearance)
Type of eruption:
a) Steep slopes = Strato/composite Volcanoes
• non-violent (quiet) eruptions - (calm or
quiet) eruptions build up the volcano

- Formed from viscous (thick) lava

- Found in subduction zones & some hot
spots
- Ex: Casades, Mt St Helens

Type of eruption:

explosive (violent) eruptions- destroy the

volcano
VISCOSITY→MAGMA/LAVA

- Viscosity is resistance to flow

Viscosity determined by
Temperature
HOT= thin, flows easily
COOL= thick
Composition
Silica(SiO2)=mineral in magma
LOW SILICA (basalt) = thin
HIGH SILICA (granite) = thick
low gas = flows easily

TYPE OF LAVA
1. Pahoehoe /pəˈhōēˌhōē/
b) Gentle slopes = Shield volcano

- Formed from fluid (thin) lava

- Only found over a hot
spot
- Ex: Hawaiian islands

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 - A form of lava flow of basaltic rock, usually - A surface flow of hot, molten lava covered
dark-colored with a smooth or ropey in a carapace of crystalline, angular blocks
surface. which tend to be smoothly faceted and may
have dimensions up to several metres.
2. Aa
Structure of the Ocean Basins

- Ocean basins are any place on Earth covered

with salt water.
- ʻAʻā is basaltic lava characterized by a rough - They are actively changing due to tectonic
or rubbly surface composed of broken lava activities.
blocks called clinker. - They are formed through seafloor spreading
3. Pillow Lava

- is the lava structure typically formed when

lava emerges from an underwater volcanic
vent or subglacial volcano or a lava flow
enters the ocean.
4. Blocky Lava

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 Embryonic. Continents are starting to Continental shelf
separate resulting in the formation of rift
valleys. An example is the Great Rift Valley - is the continental landmass that is covered
in Eastern Africa. by the sea.
- It is covered by the shallow sea less than
Juvenile. Sea-floor basalts begin forming as 200 m deep.
continental margins separate. Rift valley - The environment is rich in biodiversity since
deepens and is flooded by seawater. the depth can still be reached by sunlight
Spreading begins and mid ocean ridge is which is essential for food chain.
formed. Continental slope
- is at the edge of the continental shelf where
Mature. Ocean basin with spreading center the seafloor suddenly drops.
and continental margins are prominent - The slope is much steeper than that of the
features. Example is the Atlantic Ocean. continental shelf.
Declining. Subduction narrows much of the - This is the site where landslide, turbidity
sea floor and oceanic ridge due to currents, and sediment slumps are active.
converging tectonic plates. This results in Continental rise
the formation of trenches, volcanic island - is located at the base of the continental
arcs, and coastal mountain ranges. An slope where the gradient is shallower.
example is the Pacific Ocean. - Sediments that move down from the
continental shelf pile up at the base of the
Terminal. Ocean basin becomes narrow and slope and is gently sculptured by slow
becoming shallow due to sedimentation. moving current, which travels along the
Young mountain ranges are formed along contours of the slope.
the sides. Example is the Mediterranean Abyssal plains
Sea and Persian Gulf. - flat, cold, and dark since light can no longer
penetrate through this depth.
Continental Collision. The remaining sea
- Only sediments of ultra-fine particles of
floor is eliminated and continents collide,
clay together with microscopic marine
forming a continental mountain chain. High
organisms can reach this depth.
mountain belts like the Himalayas and
- Distinct division of mud and clay and this
the Tibetan Plateau form.
becomes useful in dating geologic events.
STRUCTURE OF OCEANIC BASIN - Exotic life forms that can survive the
extreme environment. They make use of
chemicals from deep water vents as energy
source.

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