Plate Tectonics by Zeeshan Ansari

Regional Institute of Education
Bhopal
Geography Presentation
Topic – Plate Tectonics Theory
Presented By –
Zeeshan Ansari
B.A.B.Ed. 3rd Semester
Historical Background
▪ The term plate tectonics was first used by Tuzo Wilson at University
of Toronto.
▪ Plate Tectonics theory was first published by W.J Morgan of the

Princeton University in 1962
▪ It is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of 7 large

plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of
the Earth‘s lithosphere, over the last hundreds of millions of years.
▪ The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental

drift developed during the first few decades of the 20th century.
▪ The geo scientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory

after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early
1960s.
Plate Tectonics Theory
The theory which tries to explain most of the dynamism of earth crust and
features of the endogenetic forces.
The development towards the theory began in the 1960s with extensive seafloor
mapping.
▪ This theory is based on the 2 principle hypothesis –

1. Convection current hypothesis advocated by Arthur Holmes.
2. Concept of seafloor spreading advocated by Hess.
It is an improvement over the Wegener’s continental drift theory.
The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet (the crust and upper
mantle), is broken up into tectonic plates.
The Earth’s lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates (depending on

how they are defined) and many minor plates.
▪ Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of
boundary:
1. Convergent
2. Divergent
3. Transform
Postulates of Plate tectonics theory
The earth’s interiors according to mechanical
rigidity can be classified into –
1. Lithosphere
2. Asthenosphere
• Lithosphere – The crust and part of the

upper mantle = lithosphere (100 km thick,
and less dense than the material below it so
it “floats”)
• Asthenosphere – The plastic layer below the

lithosphere = asthenosphere (The plates of
the lithosphere float on the asthenosphere)
According to Plate tectonics theory –
The lithosphere is believed to have been broken into fragments that are floating on a ductile
layer called asthenosphere (upper part of the mantle).
The movement of these plates is attributed to the convention currents being generated in the
upper mantle.
•Plates move horizontally over the asthenosphere as rigid units.
•The lithosphere includes the crust and top mantle with its thickness range varying between 5-
100 km in oceanic parts and about 200 km in the continental areas.
•The oceanic plates contain mainly the Simatic crust and are relatively thinner, while the
continental plates contain Sialic material and are relatively thicker.
•Lithospheric plates (tectonic plates) vary from minor plates to major plates, continental
plates (Arabian plate) to oceanic plates (Pacific plate), sometimes a combination of both
continental and oceanic plates (Indo-Australian plate).
The movement of crustal plates (due to convection currents
in the mantle) causes the formation of various landforms
and is the principal cause of all earth movements.
The margins of the plates are the sites of considerable

geologic activity such as seafloor spreading, volcanic
eruptions, crustal deformation, mountain building, and
continental drift.
Lithospheric Plates
A plate is a broad segment of the lithosphere, that floats on
the underlying asthenosphere and move independently of
the other plates.
Broadly they can be classified into -

1. Continental plates
2. Oceanic plates.
La Pichon divided the earth into seven major and nine

minor plates.
Major tectonic plates
1. Antarctica and the surrounding oceanic plate – (Surrounded by divergent
boundaries.)
2. North American plate – (shifting westwards, velocity 4-5

cm/year. It is half oceanic—half
continental)
3. South American plate – (shifting westwards, Half

continental — half oceanic.
3-4 cm/year)
4. Pacific plate – (Truly oceanic plate.

Shifting NW 2- 3cm/year)
5. India-Australia-New Zealand plate
6. Africa with the eastern Atlantic floor plate
7. Eurasia and the adjacent oceanic plate – (mostly continental, shifting

eastwards.
Velocity -2-3cm/year)
Minor tectonic plates
1.Arabian plate: Mostly the Saudi Arabian landmass
2. Bismarck plate (North Bismarck Plate & South Bismarck Plate)
3. Caribbean plate
4.Carolina plate [straddles the Equator in the eastern hemisphere located north of
New Guinea]
5. Cocos Plate
6. Juan de Fuca Plate (between Pacific and North American plates)
7. Nazca plate
8. Philippine plate: Between the Asiatic and Pacific plate
9. Persian Plate
10. Anatolian Plate [or the Turkish Plate is a continental tectonic plate comprising
most of the Anatolia (Asia Minor) peninsula (and the country of
Turkey)]
11. China plate
12. Fiji plate [located b/w the Pacific Plate and the Indo-Australia Plate.]
Three types of Type of Margin Divergent Convergent Transform
motion are possible

Motion Spreading Subduction Lateral sliding
between the plates
Effect Constructive Destructive Conservative
1. Separation or divergent or
constructive plate margins
Topography Ridge/Rift Trench No major effect

2. Closing together
or convergent or destructive
plate margins Volcanic Activity ? Yes Yes No
3. Transform or conservative
plate margin
Convergent Boundaries
When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary.
The impact of the two colliding plates buckles the edge of one or both plates up into a
rugged mountain range, and sometimes bends the other down into a deep seafloor
trench.
A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to the boundary, to the mountain range, and
to the trench.
Powerful earthquakes shake a wide area on both sides of the boundary.
If one of the colliding plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the
mantle where it begins to melt.
Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into new crust. Magma
formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a light colored, low-density rock
that makes up the continents.
Thus at convergent boundaries, continental crust, made of granite, is created, and
oceanic crust is destroyed.
The three types of convergent boundaries are –
1. Oceanic–continental convergence,
2. Oceanic–oceanic convergence,
3. Continental–continental convergence.
Oceanic–Continental Convergence
Oceanic crust may collide with a continent.
The oceanic plate is denser, so it undergoes subduction. This means that the
oceanic plate sinks beneath the continent.
The dense oceanic plate slowly and inexorably sinks into the asthenosphere in
the process of subduction.
The subducting slab pulls on the rest of the plate—such “slab pull” is probably the
main cause of most plate movement, pulling the rest of the plate in after itself, as it
were
Oceanic – Oceanic Convergence
In collisions between two oceanic plates, the
cooler, denser oceanic lithosphere sinks beneath
the warmer, less dense oceanic lithosphere.
As the slab sinks deeper into the mantle, it releases

water from dehydration of hydrous minerals in the
oceanic crust.
As one of the oceanic plates subducts beneath the

other, an oceanic trench is formed, shallow and
deep-focus earthquakes occur and volcanic
activity is initiated with volcanoes forming on
the ocean floor.
With time, a volcanic island arc (such as

the Aleutian Islands and the Mariana Islands)
develops; such an arc may eventually become a
more mature island arc system (such as Japan and
the islands of Sumatra and Java in Indonesia are
today)
Continental – Continental Convergence
Continent-Continent (C-C) convergence is formed between two continental plates.
When the plates converge, oceanic sediments are squeezed and upthrust between the
plates and these squeezed sediments appear as fold mountains along the plate margins.
The Himalayan Mountains are an example of this type of convergent plate boundary.
Divergent Boundaries
A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each
other.
Along these boundaries, lava spews from long fissures and geysers spurt
superheated water.
Frequent earthquakes strike along the rift. Beneath the rift, magma—molten
rock—rises from the mantle.
It oozes up into the gap and hardens into solid rock, forming new crust on the
torn edges of the plates.
Magma from the mantle solidifies into basalt, a dark, dense rock that underlies
the ocean floor.
Thus at divergent boundaries, oceanic crust, made of basalt, is created.
Features of Divergent Boundaries –
1. Mid-ocean ridges
2. rift valleys
3. fissure volcanoes
Continental Rift Valleys
Divergent boundaries can also
develop within a continent
resulting in a continental rift valley
such as The East African Rift, the
Baikal Rift Valley, the West
Antarctic Rift, and the Rio
Grande Rift are Earth’s major
active continental rift valleys.
The Great East African Rift Valley

Fissure Volcano
Mid Oceanic Ridges
Transform Fault Boundaries
▪ A transform fault or transform boundary sometimes called
a strike-slip boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where
the motion is predominantly horizontal.
▪ Transform Plate Boundaries are locations where two plates are
sliding past each other, and there is no creation or destruction of
landform but only deformation of the existing landform.
▪ The fracture zone that forms a transform plate boundary is known
as a transform fault.
▪ In oceans, transform faults are the planes of separation generally
perpendicular to the mid-oceanic ridges.
▪ North Anatolian Fault & San Andreas Fault [(Silicon Valley lies
dangerously close to the Faultline) along the western coast of
the USA] is the best example for a transcurrent edge on
continents.
The significance of Plate Tectonics
• Almost all major landforms formed are due to plate
tectonics.
• New minerals are thrown up from the core with the

magmatic eruptions.
• Economically valuable minerals like copper and uranium

are found near the plate boundaries.
• From the present knowledge of crustal plate movement,

the shape of landmasses in the future can be predicted.
• For instance, if the present trends continue, North and

South America will separate.
• A piece of land will separate from the east coast of

Africa. Australia will move closer to Asia.
Thank
you

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Regional Institute of Education

▪ Plate Tectonics theory was first published by W.J Morgan of the

▪ It is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of 7 large

▪ The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental

▪ The geo scientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory

▪ This theory is based on the 2 principle hypothesis –

It is an improvement over the Wegener’s continental drift theory.

The Earth’s lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates (depending on

• Lithosphere – The crust and part of the

• Asthenosphere – The plastic layer below the

•Plates move horizontally over the asthenosphere as rigid units.

The margins of the plates are the sites of considerable

Broadly they can be classified into -

La Pichon divided the earth into seven major and nine

2. North American plate – (shifting westwards, velocity 4-5

3. South American plate – (shifting westwards, Half

4. Pacific plate – (Truly oceanic plate.

5. India-Australia-New Zealand plate

6. Africa with the eastern Atlantic floor plate

7. Eurasia and the adjacent oceanic plate – (mostly continental, shifting

motion are possible

Topography Ridge/Rift Trench No major effect

As the slab sinks deeper into the mantle, it releases

As one of the oceanic plates subducts beneath the

With time, a volcanic island arc (such as

Thus at divergent boundaries, oceanic crust, made of basalt, is created.

Features of Divergent Boundaries –

The Great East African Rift Valley

• New minerals are thrown up from the core with the

• Economically valuable minerals like copper and uranium

• From the present knowledge of crustal plate movement,

• For instance, if the present trends continue, North and

• A piece of land will separate from the east coast of

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