179© 2011 Region 4 Education Service Center Closing the Distance: A Flexible Tutorial for TAKS™All Rights Reserved

Lesson 10Grade 8

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Courtesy of US Geological Survey/Photograph by Robert E. Wallace, USGS

San Andres Fault

Photograph from NASA/Courtesy of nasaimages.org

Japan

180Closing the Distance: A Flexible Tutorial for TAKS™ © 2011 Region 4 Education Service Center

All Rights Reserved

Lesson 10Grade 8

JapanJapan is formed at a convergent boundary along a subduction zone on the northwestern side of the Ring of Fire.The oceanic plate sinks below the continental plate. Earthquakes are common due to the motion at the subduction zone and tsunamis can occur. Japan is actually considered an island arc.

Convergent boundary

San Andres FaultAn earthquake occurs after the release of tension built up between plates. The plates slide past each other, causing a shift in the earth’s surface. Sections of crust on each side of the San Andres fault move horizontally in opposite directions.

Transform Boundary

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181© 2011 Region 4 Education Service Center Closing the Distance: A Flexible Tutorial for TAKS™All Rights Reserved

Lesson 10Grade 8

Mid-Atlantic Ridge Himalayan Mountains

Andes Mountains Aleutian Islands

Photograph courtesy of NOAA

Photograph from NASA/Courtesy of nasaimages.org

Courtesy of US Geological Survey/Photograph by George Ericksen

Courtesy of USFWS/Photograph by Ed Bailey

Explore: Land Feature Cards

182Closing the Distance: A Flexible Tutorial for TAKS™ © 2011 Region 4 Education Service Center

All Rights Reserved

Lesson 10Grade 8

Mid-Atlantic RidgeThe Mid-Atlantic Ridge is forming at a divergent boundary where two oceanic plates are moving away from one another. As the plates move apart, magma pushes up from the mantle, forming new ocean crust. The youngest ocean floor can be found at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretches from the Arctic Ocean south past the southern tip of Africa.

Divergent Boundary

Andes MountainsThe Andes Mountains are forming at a convergent boundary where the oceanic plate is being subducted under a continental plate. A trench forms where the two plates collide and mountains form where the continental crust is being pushed upward.

Convergent Boundary

Aleutian IslandsThe Aleutian Islands near Alaska are a well-known set of islands collectively called an island arc. The arc is the result of two oceanic plates colliding and one plate subducting beneath the other. The Aleutian Islands are located on the northeastern portion of the Ring of Fire.

Convergent Boundary

Himalayan MountainsThe Himalayan Mountains are formed as two continental plates collide. During this collision, the edges of both the Eurasian and Indian plates are forced upward because the density of each continental crust is similar. Folded mountains are formed as a result of the upward movement.

Convergent boundary

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