Landforms at Plate Margins:

1.  Ocean Trenches

 An ocean trench is a long, narrow, deep depression in the ocean bed, typically running parallel to a plate boundary and marking a subduction zone.

Use page 9 in your text book and the links below to complete a factfile on ocean trenches:

1. What is an ocean trench and how do they form?

2. Draw and label a diagram to show the formation of the Marianas Trench

3. Describe some of the possibilities of ocean trenches for human uses

4. If you have time - do more research into the Marianas Trench and add to your  factfile

Links to follow:

The Marianas Trench  - marks where the fast-moving Pacific Plate converges against the slower moving Philippine Plate.  For a diagram of plate movement at the Marianas trench

Watch on Youtube

Benefits to humans? 

In the shallow zone, less than 200m deep - fishing and drilling for oil and gas, but at the greatest depths research continues e.g. Deep Sea Sponges and Corals - uses!  A Carbon Sink

sea monsters!

Exploring the Cayman Trench - Uni of Southampton

Exploring the Marianas Trench with National Geographic

Look where studying geography further could take you!

2. FOLD MOUNTAINS

Fold mountains are large ranges of mountains where different rock layers have crumpled into complicated folds (anticlines and synclines) as they have pushed together due to plate movement.

watch Prof Iain Stewart 

Focus on the Alps 
- see page 10 and 11. Also make a link to your work from your Ice on the Land topic re tourism, avalanches... 

Questions to consider...    COMPLETE THIS TASK for how fold mountains are used.

• What are fold mountains?
• How are Fold Mountains formed?  complete this exercise
• Describe and explain why the traditional human activities in the Alps are forestry and farming.
• Why are tourism and HEP also suited to the Alpine environment?
• Annotate a copy of figure 2 on page 10 to account for the landuses and their locations.
• How have people tried to reduce the problems for transport?  The Gotthard Tunnel is a good example
• How do people manage the avalanche threat? 
• Summarise the advantages and disadvantage of life in the Alps. 

Climate :   In the winter time, the climate in the northern part of the Alps can get very cold with temperatures going down to as low as -20 degrees Celsius. During the summer months, the temperature can reach as high as 32 degrees Celsius -Alps Climate- read more. 

Fold Mountains Revision