*MID-OCEAN RIDGE*

The Mid-Ocean Ridge is an underwater mountain range. Usually there are valleys(they are known as a "RIFT" ) in the Mid-Ocean Ridges. This kind of ridge leads to an Oceanic Spreading Center, which leads to Sea-Floor spreading

These underwater mountain ranges are also the world's longest mountain range, which is over 40,000 MILES!!!

THE RING OF FIRE

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~THE RING OF FIRE~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

[[Geography]]

What's most significant about the geography is that the Ring of Fire is an area where a large amount of earthquakes and volcano eruptions occur. In the Ring of Fire are over 75% of the worlds most active volcanos, and 90% of the worlds earthquakes.

[[LOCATION]]

The Ring of Fire is located in the basins of the Pacific Ocean. It is about 40,000 meters around, in the shape of a horse shoe. Alot of motion goes on at the Ring of Fire.

~Pangea~

Pangaea
Did you know Pangaea, the old super continent, is now our seven split continents??? It was one huge land mass, that now turned into North America, South America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Antarctica and Australia. If you look carefully at the globe, you will see that the pieces of land actually fit really well together. For example, if you look at South American and Africa, they look like they could match just like puzzle pieces. It has been proved that it was once a huge continent, because on different parts of the world, fossils from different many animals have been found in totally different climates, on the parts of the continents that would have matched together. But just like how it moved apart and away a long time ago, it is still moving. The average movement of the plates is 1 cm. per year! It takes millions and millions of years to move these plates.

Plate Tectonics :]

The lithosphere ( the hard outer layer of the earth) is broken up into 8 major sections, called tectonic plates.These plate tectonic move in relation to one, by the plate boundaries. These three boudaries are called the divergent boundary, convergent boundary, and the transform boundary. ( see convergent and divergent boundaries for more :] )

There are many theories for Plate Tectonics. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift. The theory is that the continents release earth's core, thus turning into the 7 continents, Africa, North America, South America, Australia, Antarctica, Europe and Asia.

The forces that cause the plates to move, are friction, gravity and external forces.

Here is a Video showing you the results from plate motions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TVLUBRfHgM&feature=related

Convergent and Divergent Boundaries

Diverging means that the plates are pulling apart, and convergent boundaries means squishing together. All of the continents look like jigsaw puzzle pieces that fit together.Divergent boundaries are responsible in part for driving the motion of the plates, and Convergent Boundaries are responsible for explaining why crust older than the Cretaceous cannot be found in any ocean basin: it has been destroyed by the process of "subduction".


Convergent Boundaries

Convergent Boundaries create large mountain ranges. The Himalayas formed from a convergent boundary.




Divergent Boundaries
Divergent Boundaries create volcanic islands.

Fun and Games :DDD

GUESS which continent was which 250 million years ago <3

http://kids.mtpe.hq.nasa.gov/archive/pangaea/Pangaea_game.html

Plate Tectonics slide show review game :D

http://w4.nkcsd.k12.mo.us/~mkurbin/PlateTectonics_files/frame.htm

Plate Tectonic Quiz. [test how smart you are -grins- ]

http://go.hrw.com/activities/frameset.html?main=2685.html

The VOLCANO GAME x]

http://www.flashrolls.com/puzzle-games/South-Park-Volcano-Game.htm

B u I l D a V o L c A n O

http://kids.discovery.com/games/pompeii/pompeii.html