Physical Geography Video and Quiz

The Alpine Fault: A Plate Boundary You Can Touch

After watching the The Alpine Fault: A Plate Boundary You Can Touch video, consider the questions below. Then "submit" your response.

1. According to the plate tectonic theory, the earth is divided into about how many major tectonic plates?

2. The largest tectonic plate is the:

Pacific

Atlantic

African

South American

3. Gouge is:

a giant scratch where plate boundaries meet.

a trench where one plate slides under another

a human defacement of a plate face

a soft clay-rich material that results from plates rubbing against each other

4. In a thrust fault:

two plates slide past each other horizontally

one plate slides over another along a gently sloping ramp

one plate slips downward while the other slips upward

both plates slip downward

5. Pieces of wood can be found where plates meet in the Alpine Fault because:

trees fall into the fault

debris created by the rubbing of the plates accumulates and covers nearby vegetation

earthquakes uproot and topple trees

volcanic eruptions destroy trees