Mountain Making

Ever wonder about those giant mountains just sitting out there in Utah or North Carolina or California (and so many other places)? Can you believe people just live their lives and drive by this or things like this every day? How did these mountains get there? Where did they come from?

Today we are going to talk about tectonic plates (what they are, the different kinds, and how they move around one another), what mountains are and how they are formed, and other features of mountain ranges including canyons.

Tectonic Plates

Mountain Formation Vocabulary List.pdf

Tectonic Plates - The Skin of Our Planet

Plate Tectonics Explained

Let's Try Something!

Below is another activity by Kimberly Elliott that uses some non-conventional materials to learn about plate tectonics - she is making me HUNGRY, and smart.

Graham Cracker Tectonics - Part 1

This is another fun activity with a sweet treat reward at the end. Get a paper plate and cover it with frosting and several graham cracker squares. The graham cracker represents the Earth's crust, divided into plates; and the frosting represents the mantle within the Earth's core. Place two cracker squares in the frosting and follow the guidelines below to recreate four plate movements showing the effect of each on the Earth's crust.

To recreate the transform boundary, place the two crackers together and then slide them back and forth against each other. Note the sound and the feeling that resonates through the crackers. This movement simulates what occurs along fault lines. When enough pressure builds up along fault lines, an earthquake may occur.
To recreate the divergent boundary, have students press lightly on the crackers while slowly pulling them apart. Notice how the space left by separating the crackers begins to fill with frosting. This simulates how the movement of plates creates underwater lava flows, eventually leading to a buildup of lava and the creation of new islands.

What is a Mountain?

Types of Mountains and How They Formed

Let's Try Something Else!

Below is continuation of the activity by Kimberly Elliott that uses some non-conventional materials to learn about plate tectonics - she is making me HUNGRY, and smart.

Graham Cracker Tectonics - Part 2

As a review...get a paper plate and cover it with frosting and several graham cracker squares. The graham cracker represents the Earth's crust, divided into plates; and the frosting represents the mantle within the Earth's core. Place two cracker squares in the frosting and follow the guidelines below to recreate four plate movements showing the effect of each on the Earth's crust.

To recreate the convergent boundary, dip one edge of each cracker in water, then return to the plate. Have students gently push the crackers together and have them note how the soft edges begin to push upward. This simulates the formation of mountain ranges, through a shifting of the Earth's plates.
To recreate a subduction zone, start with two fresh crackers. Tap some small holes in one and place them in the frosting on the plate. Have students slowly push the crackers together so that the one with the holes is above the other one. They should notice frosting beginning to seep up through the holes you made; the cracker may even begin to fracture in that area. This represents how volcanoes form.

To understand plate tectonics in more depth, and it you are still hungry, you may enjoy this lesson on the theory of tectonic plates. In this lesson, the earth is compared to a S'mores casserole to help understand the layers of the earth and tectonic plates!

Let’s Get Out There

I am so excited to share with you some of these amazing creation up-close and in person. But first, a little about where I am living and the mountains that I get to see:

Where am I?

Salt Lake City, Utah
- Wasatch Mountain Range
  - 38 to 24 million years ago large bodies of magma intruded parts of what is now the Wasatch Mountain Range. These granitic intrusions eroded thrust sheets, and older sedimentary rocks from the uplifted Wasatch Range as it is seen today

How am I standing/driving between these two mountain ranges?

Canyons
- Big Cottonwood Canyon
  - Canyons are formed by erosion – rivers are what most often cause erosion; they carve into the land with their rushing waters, wearing away at the land and over millions of years, a canyon is formed.

Review and Quick Quiz

Attached is a list of words we used quite often during this lesson – take a few minutes to review them, explore how you are feeling, and remember what types of images pop into your head when reading this list and then, let’s talk.

Mountain Formation Vocabulary List.pdf

After reviewing the document and experiencing what you did today – How do you feel? Does it make you want to travel to those mountains and experience those old guys first-hand? I challenge you to plan your ideal trip in the mountains and what that trip might include (i.e. backpacking/camping; rock climbing; hiking; mountain biking). Learning about mountains and how long they took to form and the magnificent beauty that lives within them always gets my adventurous brain turning!

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