Teaching Resources—Plate Tectonics

Plate Boundaries and Hotspot Demonstration

Oreo® cookies are used in a fun way to demonstrate the three types of plate boundaries and a hotspot. Learn more >

Related Links

• NPS—Geoscience Concepts

Site Index & Credits

Plate Tectonics and Our National Parks—Site Index

Plate Tectonics and Our National Parks

• Plate Tectonics—The Unifying Theory of Geology
• Inner Earth Model
• Evidence of Plate Motions
• Types of Plate Boundaries
• Tectonic Settings of NPS Sites—Master List

Divergent Plate Boundaries

• Continental Rifts
• Passive Continental Margins

Convergent Plate Boundaries

• Subduction Zones
• Accreted Terranes
• Collisional Mountain Ranges

Transform Plate Boundaries

Hotspots

• Oceanic Hotspots

• Continental Hotspots

Teaching Resources—Plate Tectonics

Photos and Multimedia—Plate Tectonics

Geological Monitoring—Plate Tectonics

Plate Tectonics and Our National Parks (2020)

• Text and Illustrations by Robert J. Lillie, Emeritus Professor of Geosciences, Oregon State University [E-mail]

• Produced under a Cooperative Agreement for earth science education between the National Park Service's Geologic Resources Division and the American Geosciences Institute.

Plate Tectonics & Our National Parks