Faulting, Folding and Volcanoes

How Mountains are built

Vocabulary
Faulting: A fracture in a rock formation along which

there has been movement of the blocks of rock on

either side of the plane of fracture
Anticline: An A-Shaped fold.
Syncline: An S-Shaped Fold
Erosion: The removal soil, rock, or dissolved
material from one location on the Earth's crust,
then transport it away to another location

Volcabuary
Volcano: A repute on the earths surface cased by

subduction zones.
Shield Volcano: a type of volcano usually built
almost entirely of fluid magma flows
Cinder Volcano: A steep, cone hill consisting of
magma that accumulate around and downwind from
a volcanic vent
Strato Volcano: is a tall, conical volcano composed of
one layer of hardened lava and volcanic ash.

Faulting
Under the crust, there is great pressure and this

creates pressure with the earths plates.

When that pressure becomes too great it needs to
be released this causes the crust to either fold or
split.
When there is a lot of pressure it causes folding
this is how fold mountains are created.
When the crust splits/cracks a fault is created.

Faulting
Anytime the crust splits we get what is known as a

fault line.
The spaces that are between tectonic plates are
called fault lines.
The plates move along these fault lines.

Faulting: Why does it happen?

The pressure inside the earth against these plates.
The rocks will try to stay in one place.
When the stress is too high the plate will crack and
a fault occurs.

Faulting
As the pressure builds on these two split plates, it

will get more and more pressure from inside the

earth.
The pressure will stop. Then the plates will move
in opposite directions.

Faults
These faults will move either:
Vertically

Horizontal

Faults
Block Mountains are created by vertical movement

of the plates.
This is because the plates are moving up and
down.

Faults
Earthquakes are created by vertical movement of

plate tectonics.

Folding
These types of mountains are created in subduction

zones.
These types of mountains can be found on the west coast
of Canada.

Folding
Over millions of years, mountains erode and fall to

the ocean floor.

These rocks pack very tight together.
The exist along side the earths plates.

Folding
When the two plates start to move slowly the

pressure builds slowly.

Over time the pressure builds and builds.
Over the course of time the pressure from the
plates becomes very high and the heavier plate
dips under the lighter plate.

Folding
The pressure causes the plates to move ,this

causes forces to move upwards.

The rocks/ sediments that fell into the ocean from
erosion are now lifted up from the plate movement
and become mountains.
Over time these to will erode.

Types of Folding
Anticline: Top of A-Shape.
Syncline: Bottom of an S-Shape.

Volcanos

Volcanoes
Magma rises through cracks or weaknesses in the

Earth's crust.
Pressure builds up inside the Earth.
When this pressure is released, eg as a result of plate
movement, magma explodes to the surface causing a
volcanic eruption.
The lava from the eruption cools to form new crust.
Over time, after several eruptions, the rock builds up
and a volcano forms.

Volcanoes
At subducting boundaries, magma can get through

the cracks of the two plates and make its way to

the surface.
Volcanoes can also form by the magma simply
working its way up to the surface.
It does this because it is less dense than the
rock.

Subduction Zone

Do they All Go Boom?

Volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct
An active volcano is one that has had an eruption

in historical times (in the last few thousand years)

A dormant volcano is one that has erupted in
historical times and has the potential to erupt
again, it just hasnt erupted recently.
An extinct volcano is one that scientists think
probably wont erupt again.

Shield Volcanoes
Shield Volcano: broad and gentle
sloping volcano
Called shield based on the
resemblance of an ancient
Roman shield
Very large in size
Characterized by a low
viscosity (resistance to flow)
Doesnt always erupt from the
summit

Hawaii Volcanoes
The tallest volcano on Earth is Hawaiis Mauna Kea, with

an elevation of 4,207 meters.

Its only a little bigger than the largest volcano on Earth,
Mauna Loa with an elevation of only 4,169 meters.
Both are shield volcanoes that rise up from the bottom of
the ocean.
If you could measure Mauna Kea from the base of the
ocean to its peak, youd get a true height of 10,203
meters (and thats bigger than Mount Everest).

Cinder Volcancos
Volcano made from pyroclasts (fragment of rock

made by volcanic explosion)

Very steep slopes (in contrast to Shield variety)
Most ejected material is collected on slopes of
volcano and bound by gravity (can only get so
steep)
Generally have short lives (very few eruptions)
Generally very short (few higher than 500m)
Very explosive, but chambers usually small)

Cinder Volcanoes

Strato Volcanoes
More viscous than shield volcanoes
Volcano made from alternating layers of pyroclasts and rock

solidified from lava flows

Slopes come in variety of steepness (a mix of shield and
cinder)
Lava flows fatten, while pyroclasts build up
Built over long spans of time (long time between eruptions
usually), so generally very large
Usually the most destructive (pyroclastic flows, tephra, lots
of ejected material)

Volcano Video
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/101-

videos/volcanoes-101