This site provides information on plate boundaries, which are found at the edge of the lithospheric plates and are of three types: convergent, divergent and conservative. Wide zones of deformation are usually characteristic of plate boundaries because of the interaction between two plates. The three boundaries are characterized by their distinct motions which are described in the text and depicted ... Full description.

In this lesson, students will learn to distinguish the different layers of the Earth, observe the effects of plate movements, and explore the reasons for earthquakes and volcanoes. They will label and measure the thicknesses of each layer of the Earth (lithosphere, asthenosphere, etc.) and record their results, construct models from sand and clay to illustrate what happens at the three types of plate ... Full description.

This page provides an introduction to plate tectonics for secondary students. Topics include plate motions, the layers of the Earth and oceanic versus continental plates. A set of links provides access to material on the processes of plate tectonics occuring at plate boundaries, zones of movement and instability. Full description.

This site is part of GeoNet Internet Geography, a resource for pre-collegiate British geography students and their instructors. This page focuses on the structure of the Earth and the theory of plate tectonics, including continental drift, plate boundaries, the Ring of Fire, and mountains. Full description.

This data tip from Bridge, the Ocean Sciences Education Teacher Resource Center archive, includes a variety of educational sites to visit on plate tectonic theory. Learners can use underwater earthquake data to identify plate boundaries with links to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Acoustic Monitoring Program Ocean Seismicity data. Data from the Northeast Pacific, eastern Equatorial ... Full description.

This web site was put together by the U.S.G.S. (United States Geological Survey) and the N.P.S. (National Park Service) and provides an overview of plate tectonics. It begins by explaining about the Earth's core, mantle, and crust. It then discusses the crustal plates and the types of plate boundaries (convergent, divergent and transform). The lesson ends with paleogeographic reconstructions of plate ... Full description.

This is a brief overview of the Theory of Plate Tectonics. According to the theory, the Earth's surface layer, or lithosphere, consists of seven large and 18 smaller plates that move and interact in various ways. Along their boundaries, they converge, diverge, and slip past one another, creating the Earth's seismic and volcanic activities. These plates lie atop a layer of partly molten rock called ... Full description.

This site explains the basics of plate tectonics. It was devised for the eighth grade students at Beal High School in the United Kingdom but is suitable for any English speaking middle school student. The site covers sea-floor spreading, subduction, convergent boundaries, collision boundaries, and transform boundaries. The site uses animated illustrations to explain how plate motion causes earthquakes, ... Full description.

Continents were once thought to be static, locked tight in their positions in Earth's crust. Similarities between distant coastlines, such as those on opposite sides of the Atlantic, were thought to be the work of a scientist's overactive imagination, or, if real, the result of erosion on a massive scale. This interactive feature shows 11 tectonic plates and their names, the continents that occupy ... Full description.

This activity uses the free software 'Seismic Eruption' to visualize seismicity and volcanic activity in space and time and to explore the relationship of earthquakes and volcanic activiy to plate tectonics. Students run simulations on the Pacific coasts of South America and California and the mid-oceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, answer questions, and construct a cross-section. A link to download ... Full description.