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Reading a Map
Name: _____________________________________
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Moving Plates
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Earth’s crust is made up of huge slabs of rock called tectonic plates. Most big earthquakes occur
in areas where these plates meet. The map below shows the major tectonic plates, as well as the
locations of some notable earthquakes in 2011. Study the map, then answer the questions.
Tectonic Plates
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ARCTIC OCEAN
North American Plate
North
America
JAPAN
Juan de Fuca
Plate
Asia
Pacific Plate
Europe TURKEY
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Colorado
Virginia
Oklahoma
Philippine
Plate
Eurasian Plate
Caribbean
Plate
Cocos
Plate
Asia
ATLANTIC
OCEAN
Indian
Plate
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EQUATOR
African Plate
South
America
PACIFIC
OCEAN
Nazca
Plate
Australia
Arabian
Plate
Africa
Australian Plate
SOUTHERN
OCEAN
INDIAN
OCEAN
SOURCE: U.S. Geological Survey
Eurasian
Plate
South American
Plate
Scotia
Plate
KEY
Major tectonic plate
2011 earthquake
Antarctic Plate
Antarctica
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Asia
Philippine
Plate
1. On which tectonic plate do you live? ___________________________________________________________
2. W
hich plate is along the southern edge of the North American Plate and east of the Cocos Plate?
______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. D
escribe where the Philippine Plate is in relation to its closest neighboring plates. ________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
4. I n which direction would you travel to go from the Scotia Plate to the African Plate? _______________
5. I n which direction would you travel to go from the Nazca Plate to the Pacific Plate? ________________
6. Which three plates­meet near the spot where the earthquake in Turkey occurred? ___________________
______________________________________________________________________________________________
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