Topic Name

Classification of geographical forces:

Classification of Endogenic movements:
Classification of Endogenic Movements:
Denudation:
‘Denude’ means to strip off or to uncover.
Types of Weathering:
Tectonics:
Important Concepts that tried to Explain the Tectonic
Processes:
Continental Drift Theory (Alfred Wegener, 1922):
● According to Continental Drift Theory- one big
landmass which he called Pangaea which was
covered by one big ocean called Panthalassa.
● A sea called Tethys divided the Pangaea into:
Laurentia (Laurasia) to the north and Gondwanaland
to the south of Tethys.
ASSUMPTIONS-
● Sial floats over sima
● Forces
Continental Drift Theory (Alfred Wegener, 1922):
Evidences of Continental Drift Theory:
Apparent Affinity of Physical Features:
● The bulge of Brazil (South America) seems to fit into
the Gulf of Guinea (Africa).
● Greenland seems to fit in well with Ellesmere and
Baffin islands of Canada.
● The west coast of India, Madagascar and Africa
seem to have been joined.
Drawbacks of Continental Drift Theory :
● Wegener failed to explain why the drift began only
in Mesozoic era and not before.
● The theory doesn’t consider oceans.
● Proofs heavily depend on assumptions that are
generalistic.
● Forces like buoyancy, tidal currents and gravity are
too weak to be able to move continents.
● Modern theories (Plate Tectonics) accept the
existence of Pangaea and related land masses but
give a very different explanation to the causes of
drift.
Convection Current Theory:
● Arthur Holmes discussed the possibility of
convection currents in the mantle.
● These currents are generated due to radioactive
elements causing thermal differences in the mantle.
Convection Current Theory:
● Rising limbs of these currents meet, oceanic ridges
are formed on the seafloor due to the divergence.
● Failing limbs meet, trenches are formed due to the
convergence.
● The movement of the lithospheric plates is caused
by the movement of the magma in the mantle.
Seafloor Spreading Theory:
Seafloor Spreading Theory:
● Proposed by Harry Hess.
● Basaltic magma rises from the fractures and cools on
the ocean floor to form new seafloor.
● The newly formed seafloor moves away from the
ridge, and its place is taken by an even newer
seafloor and the cycle repeats.
● With time, older rocks are spread farther away from
the spreading zone while younger rocks will be
found nearer to the spreading zone.
Paleomagnetism:
● Record of earth’s magnetic field with the help of
magnetic fields recorded in rocks, sediment,
● Rocks formed from underwater volcanic activity are
mainly basaltic (low silica, iron-rich).
● Align themselves in the direction of the magnetic
field.
● The polarity of the Earth's magnetic field and
magnetic field reversals are thus detectable by
studying the rocks of different ages
Paleomagnetism: Strong evidence of Seafloor Spreading and Plate
Tectonics:
● Tectonic plates are diverging.
● Fissure or vent (in between the ridge) between the plates
allowed the magma to rise and harden into a long narrow band
of rock on either side of the vent.
● Assumes the polarity of Earth’s geomagnetic field at the time.
● Adjacent rock bands have opposite polarities.
Evidence for Seafloor Spreading:
● Rocks closer to the mid-oceanic ridges have normal
polarity and are the youngest and the age of the
rocks increases as one moves away from the crest
(ridge).
● The rocks of the oceanic crust near the oceanic
ridges are much younger than the rocks of the
continental crust.
Distribution of Earthquakes and Volcanoes along the
Mid-Ocean Ridges:
Plate Tectonics:
● McKenzie and Parker.
● Earth’s lithosphere is broken into distinct plates floating
on a ductile layer called asthenosphere.
● Crust and top mantle thickness- 5-100 km (oceanic parts)
and 200 km (continental areas).
● The oceanic plates contain Simatic crust (thinner), and
the continental plates contain Sialic material (thicker).
● Lithospheric plates (tectonic plates) vary from minor
plates to major plates, continental plates (Arabian plate)
to oceanic plates (Pacific plate), and oceanic plates (Indo-
Australian plate).
Plate Tectonics:
Major tectonic plates
● Antarctica and the surrounding oceanic plate
● North American plate
● South American plate
● Pacific plate
● India-Australia-New Zealand plate
● Africa with the eastern Atlantic floor plate
● Eurasia and the adjacent oceanic plate
Plate Tectonics:
Minor tectonic plates

● Cocos plate: Between Central America and Pacific plate

● Nazca plate: Between South America and Pacific plate
● Arabian plate: Mostly the Saudi Arabian landmass
● Philippine plate: Between the Asiatic and Pacific plate
● Caroline plate: Between the Philippine and Indian plate (North
of New Guinea)
● Fuji plate: North-east of Australia
● Turkish plate
● Aegean plate (Mediterranean region)
● Caribbean plate
● Juan de Fuca plate (between Pacific and North American
plates)
● Iranian plate.
Plate Tectonics:
Interaction of Plates:
There are three ways in which the plates interact with
each other:
1. Convergent Boundary
2. Divergent boundary
3. Transform Edge
Interaction of Plates:
Divergence forming Divergent Edge or the Constructive
Edge-
● The plates diverge (move away from each other).
● Mid-ocean ridges (e.g. Mid-Atlantic Ridge) are
formed due to this kind of interaction.
● Divergent edges are sites of earth crust formation,
and volcanic earth forms are common along such
edges.
Interaction of Plates:
Convergence forming Convergent Edge or Destructive
Edge-
● Two lithospheric plates collide against each other.
● Example: Himalayan Boundary Fault.
● The subducted material gets heated, up and is
thrown out forming volcanic island arc and
continental arc systems and a dynamic equilibrium is
achieved.
Interaction of Plates:
Transcurrent Edge or Conservative Edge or Transform
Edge-
● Two plates slide past against each other, and there
is no creation or destruction of landform but only
deformation
● Example: San Andreas Fault.
Convergent Boundary:
● Along a convergent boundary two lithospheric
plates collide against each other.
● When one of the plates is an oceanic plate, it gets
embedded in the softer asthenosphere of the
continental plate, and as a result, trenches are
formed at the zone of subduction.
Types of Convergent Boundary:
In convergence there are subtypes namely:
1. Collision of oceanic plates or ocean-ocean
convergence (formation of volcanic island arcs).
2. Collision of continental and oceanic plates or ocean-
continent convergence (formation of continental
arcs and fold mountains).
3. Collision of continental plates or continent-
continent convergence (formation of fold
mountains).
Ocean-ocean convergence:
● Formation of Japanese Island Arc, Indonesian Archipelago,
Philippine Island Arc and Caribbean Islands.

● Archipelago: an extensive group of islands.

● Island arc: narrow chain of islands which are volcanic in origin.

An island arc is usually curved.

● In Ocean-Ocean Convergence, a denser oceanic plate subducts

below a less dense oceanic plate forming a trench along the
boundary.