Plate Tectonic Animation - Earthguide Online Classroom

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Interactive animations that explain key concepts and processes, plus other interactives and diagrams of related topics for K-12 teachers and students.

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Plate tectonics

Definition

Plate tectonics

Summary maps

Concept of continental drift
(archaic)

What the Earth looked like in the distant past

Depth of the seafloor

Imaging the shape of the seaflor

Seafloor spreading
(Key process #1)

Midocean ridges

Subduction
(Key process #2)

Convection

Temperature inside the Earth

Earthquakes over subduction zones
(Benioff-Wadati)

Plate margins

Continental margins

Where earthquakes occur

Supercontinents and the Wilson cycle

Pangaea, Gondwanaland and Tethys

Hawaiian-Emperor seamount chain

Age of the seafloor

Age of the most recent thermo-tectonic event

Seafloor paleomagnetic anomalies

Sediment thickness on the seafloor

Marine sediments

Tectonic setting of California

ANZA Forecast

Earth's internal convection

Multidimensional activities

Cascadia subduction zone

Locating an earthquake epicenter

Image credits

Left-to-right and top-to-bottom:

Surface relief of the Earth #1: Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/.
Past continental positions: Image from This Dynamic Earth by Kious and Tilling, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Geologic time chart: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Modern configuration of tectonic plates: Image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Layers of the Earth: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Thickness of the Earth's crust: Image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Source data are described in W.D. Mooney, G. Laske and G. Masters, 1998. CRUST 5.1: A global crustal model at 57°x5°. J. Geophys. Res., 103, 727-747.
Surface relief of the Earth #2: Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/.
Sonar methods: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Seafloor spreading: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
First map of the Mid-Atlantic ridge: From "World Ocean Floor Panorama", Authors Marie Tharp and Bruce C. Heezen, 1977. Copyright by Marie Tharp 1977/2003. Reproduced by permission of Marie Tharp Maps, LLC , 8 Edward Street, Sparkill, New York 10976.
Subduction: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Boiling water: Image from video courtesy Eugenia Etkina, Rutgers University.
Temperature inside the Earth: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Benioff-Wadati zone: TBA.
Plate margins: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Nodified from original computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/.
Continental margins: Data from GLOBE Elevations with bathymetry from Smith and Sandwell. Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/.
Recent earthquakes in southern California: Image from interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Data from the Broadband Seismic Data Collection Center at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Volcanic mountains: Aerial view of Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier: Image taken on December 11, 2004, by John Pallister, image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey..
Volcanic activity: Image courtesy Hawaiian Volcano Observatory of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Igneous rocks: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Supercontinents and the Wilson Cycle: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Pangaea configuration of continents: Image from This Dynamic Earth by Kious and Tilling, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Hawaiian-Emperor Seamount Chain: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Age of the seafloor: Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/. More information available at NGDC.
Seafloor paleomagnetic anomalies: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Seafloor sediment thickness: Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/. Data described in Divins, D.L., NGDC Total Sediment Thickness of the World's Oceans & Marginal Seas.
Shells of foraminifera in marine sediments: Photographer Memorie Yasuda.
Surface relief of California: Image from computerized digital images and associated databases available from the National Geophysical Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/. Data from Global Land One-Kilometer Base Elevation (GLOBE) 30 arc-second digital elevation model (DEM).
Earthquake simulation near Palm Springs: Image from Terashake Visualization at the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Visualization by Amit Chourasia, Steve Cutchin - Visualization Services, SDSC. Simulations from SCEC and SDSC.
Earth's internal convection: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Paleomagnetic anomalies near the Cascadia subduction zone: Image from This Dynamic Earth by Kious and Tilling, courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey.
Locating an earthquake epicenter: Image from an interactive diagram by Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.