GPHY 102 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Continental Shelf, Igneous Rock, Canadian Shield

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geography
• Course: GPHY 102
• Professor: Ryan K Danby

Document Summary

Upper less dense zone of felsic rock. Mafic: rocks rich in iron and magnesium. Felsic: rocks rich in silicate minerals, particularly feldspar: oceanic crust: Spreading boundary: mostly happens under water, happens above ocean level in iceland. Mid-atlantic ridge (north american - eurasian plate boundary) Allows us to study spreading ridges without going under the ocean. Transform boundary: transform fault: sliding of plates, doesn"t create new rocks but creates stress that has to be released as seismic energy, san andreas fault. Frequently results in mountain chains and rock folding: extension. Global scale relief: result of plate tectonic and subsequent surface modification, 29% land and 71% ocean but extends onto the shelves of continental plates, adjusted ratio is 35:65 if you include continental shelves. Continents: active belts of mountain building and inactive regions of old, stable rock, mountains "grow" through volcanism or tectonic uplift, or sometimes both, alpine chains: