home » Website Detail Page

Detail Page

Item Picture
Understanding Plate Motions
published by the United States Geologic Survey
This site, from the U.S. Geological Survey, provides an introduction to the motions of tectonic plates.  Descriptions of each of the four types of plate boundaries are presented along with illustrations of the motions associated with each.  The site also shows examples of each type of boundary, such as the San Andreas Fault in California.
https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html
Subjects Levels Resource Types
Other Sciences
- Geoscience
- High School
- Middle School
- Elementary School
- Lower Undergraduate
- Informal Education
- Reference Material
- Audio/Visual
= Image/Image Set
Intended Users Formats Ratings
- Learners
- Educators
- General Publics
- text/html
- image/jpeg
  • Currently 0.0/5

Want to rate this material?
Login here!

Access Rights:
Free access
Restriction:
Does not have a copyright, license, or other use restriction.
Images are copyright of the photographer.
Keywords:
boundary, earthquake, fault, plate, plate tectonics, subduction, tectonic
Record Creator:
Metadata instance created April 26, 2007 by Ann Deml
Record Updated:
August 19, 2020 by Lyle Barbato
Last Update
when Cataloged:
May 5, 1999
Other Collections:

AAAS Benchmark Alignments (2008 Version)

4. The Physical Setting

4C. Processes that Shape the Earth
  • 6-8: 4C/M2a. Some changes in the earth's surface are abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) while other changes happen very slowly (such as uplift and wearing down of mountains).
  • 6-8: 4C/M11. The outer layer of the earth—including both the continents and the ocean basins—consists of separate plates.
  • 6-8: 4C/M12. The earth's plates sit on a dense, hot, somewhat melted layer of the earth. The plates move very slowly, pressing against one another in some places and pulling apart in other places, sometimes scraping alongside each other as they do. Mountains form as two continental plates, or an ocean plate and a continental plate, press together.
  • 9-12: 4C/H3. The outward transfer of the earth's internal heat causes regions of different temperatures and densities. The action of a gravitational force on regions of different densities causes the rise and fall of material between the earth's surface and interior, which is responsible for the movement of plates.
ComPADRE is beta testing Citation Styles!

Record Link
AIP Format
(United States Geologic Survey, Sioux Falls, 1999), WWW Document, (https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html).
AJP/PRST-PER
Understanding Plate Motions (United States Geologic Survey, Sioux Falls, 1999), <https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html>.
APA Format
Understanding Plate Motions. (1999, May 5). Retrieved May 1, 2025, from United States Geologic Survey: https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html
Chicago Format
United States Geologic Survey. Understanding Plate Motions. Sioux Falls: United States Geologic Survey, May 5, 1999. https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html (accessed 1 May 2025).
MLA Format
Understanding Plate Motions. Sioux Falls: United States Geologic Survey, 1999. 5 May 1999. 1 May 2025 <https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html>.
BibTeX Export Format
@misc{ Title = {Understanding Plate Motions}, Publisher = {United States Geologic Survey}, Volume = {2025}, Number = {1 May 2025}, Month = {May 5, 1999}, Year = {1999} }
Refer Export Format

%T Understanding Plate Motions %D May 5, 1999 %I United States Geologic Survey %C Sioux Falls %U https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html %O text/html

EndNote Export Format

%0 Electronic Source %D May 5, 1999 %T Understanding Plate Motions %I United States Geologic Survey %V 2025 %N 1 May 2025 %8 May 5, 1999 %9 text/html %U https://faculty.virginia.edu/rwoclass/astr1210/guide06.html


Disclaimer: ComPADRE offers citation styles as a guide only. We cannot offer interpretations about citations as this is an automated procedure. Please refer to the style manuals in the Citation Source Information area for clarifications.

Citation Source Information

The AIP Style presented is based on information from the AIP Style Manual.

The APA Style presented is based on information from APA Style.org: Electronic References.

The Chicago Style presented is based on information from Examples of Chicago-Style Documentation.

The MLA Style presented is based on information from the MLA FAQ.
Save to my folders

Supplements

Contribute

Make a Comment
Relate this resource

Similar Materials

Understanding Plate Motions

Waves of Destruction: Tsunamis

IRIS: Animations of Plate Tectonics

More...

Featured By

Physics To Go
Jun 1 - Jun 16, 2008