This page offers access to maps and graphics of earthquakes, active volcanoes and plate tectonics for the world, the Cascade Range , Juan de Fuca Ridge, Gorda Ridge and Axial Seamount in North America, South America, and Western Canada. The Ring of Fire is noted in some maps, and others offer data for the years 1994-1999. Full description.

This activity will enable students to view the breakup of the super-continent Pangaea over the past 190 million years and chart the subsequent movement of land masses, and to better understand plate tectonics. Students are provided with copies of map sheets with frames which are reconstructed maps of the land masses that existed on Earth at a specific time. Beginning with frame 20 and working backwards ... 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.

Information on this site about the early history of the Theory of Plate Tectonics begins in 1912 with Alfred Wegener (1880-1930), who noticed that most of the continents seem to fit together like a puzzle. The west African coastline seems to fit nicely into the east coast of South America and the Caribbean sea, and a similar fit appears across the Pacific. He proposed that the continents were once ... Full description.

Since the Hawaiian Islands were all created by volcanic activity, it is somewhat surprising that only the island of Hawaii now possesses any active volcanoes. Why did the volcanoes that built the other islands stop erupting and why are those on the big island still active? This video segment, adapted from a NOVA television broadcast, shows how plumes of hot material rise from the Earth's interior ... Full description.

In this lesson, students investigate the movement of Earth's tectonic plates, the results of these movements, and how magnetic anomalies present at spreading centers document the motion of the crust. As a result of this activity, students will be able to describe the motion of tectonic plates, differentiate between three types of plate boundaries, infer what type of boundary exists between two tectonic ... Full description.

This teacher's guide provides directions for building three-dimensional models from foam blocks to demonstrate plate tectonic principles, plate boundary interactions and the geometry and relative motions of faulting of geologic layers. References are included. Full description.

This activity has students read and answer questions based upon the article 'The plate tectonic story: a scientific jigsaw.' The article starts with the continental drift theory of Alfred Wegener and adds the evidence from the seafloor to arrive at plate tectonics. It concludes with remarks about mantle dynamics and the future ability to predict earthquakes. Full description.

Early evidence showing striking similarities between regions on opposite sides of vast oceans suggested that in Earth's distant past what are now separate continents may once have been connected. However, this evidence said nothing about how the continents could have moved to their present positions. This video shows how seafloor spreading creates new oceanic crust and how the crust is destroyed by ... Full description.

This site is part of the United States Geological Survey, Cascade Volcano Observatory web site. It provides general information about the theory of plate tectonics. It correlates specific landform types and physical processes with the types of plate boundaries where they occur. The explanation of each boundary type includes real world examples and links to United States Geological Survey web pages ... Full description.