Plate Tectonics (2)

[kingwinner]

In terms of plate tectonics,

 

1) How was the Western Cordillera formed and what is happening there?

(-is it the Juan de Fuca Plate and Pacific Plate subducting under North American Plate, creating volcanoes along coastlines??? I was told that the Rockies, or western cordillera is the oldest mountain range, is this true?)

 

2) How was the Mediterranean formed and what is happening there?

(-I only know that the African Plate is subducting under Eurasian Plate creating the Alps...)

 

3) How was the Appalachians formed and what is happening there?

(-I can't see any plate boundaries in that area...)

 

4) How was the Mexico formed and what is happening there?

(The Cocos Plate (and partly Pacific plate too) is colliding with Caribbean and N. American Plate, but is that how Mexico was formed?)

 

5) Are the Alps, Appalachians and Western Cordillera actually volcanoes (the Rockies don't look like volcanoes to me...) formed by oceanic-continental collision?

 

I have to get these things clear before the test, can someone briefly explain? I would appreciate :)

[Tormod]

Google is your friend. I plugged in your questions in Google and instantly found answers.

[Turtle]

Google is your friend. I plugged in your questions in Google and instantly found answers.

 

___Thanks Tormod; I overslept but Google never does. :D In review of Kings list I would have to Google all but the first myself. :) Since I live on top of the JuanDe Fuca subduction zone, I don't mind commenting on the circumstance at all.

(-is it the Juan de Fuca Plate and Pacific Plate subducting under North American Plate, creating volcanoes along coastlines??? I was told that the Rockies, or western cordillera is the oldest mountain range, is this true?)

 

___The volcanos aren't on the coast; the relatively low lying coastal mountains constitute mostly sedimentary rocks; they are the pushed up rumbled crust on the leading edge of the North American Plate where Juan De Fuca subducts. The volcanos - called the cascades - arise some 120 miles inland or so & lie above the now deep subducted edge of Juan De Fuca which is melting. My friend St. Helens is the most active volcano in the continental US; the new dome is currently growing at an amazing dump truck of new rock every second & rising in height 12 to 16 feet per day. At night the hot lava is clearly visible within the crater.

___Rock on. :D

[Fishteacher73]

This sounds quite a bit like a homework assignment. Whoile many of us here have no problems helping, a gentle reminder...It is your homework, not ours, to do. A gentele nudge or refinement of a point is fine, but to simply list your review questions in hopes that they will be answered is not the best way about it.

[Turtle]

___I often found small study groups of fellow students helpful & I never hesitated to take advantage of the instructors office hours. Many instructors - geology in particular :D - have a sincere interest in the subject outside of teaching it.

___I have a lifelong sincere interest in rocks; while I no longer keep around boxes of rockses, I always have a magnifying glass in my pocket to examine rocks (also other small objects & light my cig on a sunny day). I recently took a short trip to visit a volcano & my partner took these sharp photos of the immediate surrounds - within 5 miles - of Mt. St. Helens.

http://hypography.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=485&c=3&userid=796

http://hypography.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=485&goto=next&c=3&userid=796

___He offers them as free domain in the interest of science. Moments in geologic time. Print them out for inspiration while you do your own homework or study with friends or take advantage of the instructors office hours. Show them around. Look at some rocks at your feet & where do they come from? :)

 

PS You must leave the Hypography watermark intact on the above images; just policy.

[kingwinner]

These are not homework questions but (possible) test questions, I was only given a plate map and nothing else, so there's no way of knowing what's happening there...

 

I have searched tons of web sites but I still need some explanations on the following

 

1) Is Western Cordillera mostly composed of volcanic mountains? Are the Rocky mountains part of Western Cordillera and are they volcanoes?

 

2) Web sites say that African-Eurasian collision created Mediterranean Sea...how come? when these 2 plates collide the sea should be destroyed instead of being created (which will happen later) Then, how is the sea created?...And also, I really don't get how the Alps in Europe can form without the continents of Africa and Europe touching each other (unlike the Himalayas), are the Alps volcanoes or simply mountains?

 

4) I don't understand how plate tectonics have created and affected the Mexico area geologically! (I have only found out that Cocos plate (& partly Pacific plate too) subducts under N. American plate)

[Turtle]

___Without hitting the books myself, I don't know any of those. Well,,,the Rocky mountains aren't volcnos, but that's all. The process of searching yields the best learning. :)