AP Environmental Science / Unit 4: Earth Systems and Resources
4.1 Plate Tectonics
Notes
Earth's lithosphere is broken into plates that move on the mantle.
- Divergent boundaries: plates move apart (mid-ocean ridges, rift valleys).
- Convergent: plates collide (subduction, volcanoes, mountains).
- Transform: plates slide past (earthquakes, San Andreas Fault).
Practice
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a:
New crust forms as plates separate.
Subduction zones are found at:
One plate sinks beneath another.
The San Andreas Fault is a:
Plates slide past each other.
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