Earthguide - Demo

Tectonic plates

Are the tops ofmost plates capped with continental or oceanic crust?
Consider the North American Plate.
Are tectonic plates pieces of crust or lithosphere?
Which of these layers (by composition) make up a plate - crust, mantle core?
Someone must have decided where to draw the edges of the plates. How did they determine the edge of each plate? Why is the area within a plate considered part of a single unit?
As the Atlantic Ocean opens, what's happening to the size of the North American Plate?
Consult the animation below.

Image from Geology of the Scotian Margin
Geological Survey of Canada



	Tectonic plates Back Home Image from - This Dynamic Earth: The Story of Plate Tectonics U.S. Geological Survey To download this image, right-click on the image and select "Save Picture As ...". Questions for thought Are the tops ofmost plates capped with continental or oceanic crust? Consider the North American Plate. Are tectonic plates pieces of crust or lithosphere? Which of these layers (by composition) make up a plate - crust, mantle core? Someone must have decided where to draw the edges of the plates. How did they determine the edge of each plate? Why is the area within a plate considered part of a single unit? As the Atlantic Ocean opens, what's happening to the size of the North American Plate? Consult the animation below. Image from Geology of the Scotian Margin Geological Survey of Canada © 2007-2008 Earthguide at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. All rights reserved.