Earthquakes and Coastal Landscapes—Copalis River, Washington
Trees along the Washington coast were killed by salt-water invasion when the land suddenly dropped during the last great Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake in the year 1700.
San Andreas Fault—Fault Trail - Public Domain image, National Parks Ga...
Point Reyes National Seashore, California. An offset fence line reveals the 16 feet (5 meters) of lateral ground breakage that occured as the San Andreas Fault suddenly let loose during the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.
Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
Active subduction along the southern Alaska coast has formed a volcanic arc with features including the Katmai caldera and neighboring Mount Griggs. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
The Action is at The Edges - Public Domain image, National Parks Galle...
Earth’s outer shell is broken into tectonic plates that move relative to one another. The plates rip apart at divergent plate boundaries, crash together at convergent plate boundaries, and slide past each other... More
Passive Continental Margin—Gulf Islands National Seashore, Florida and...
The edge of the Gulf of Mexico is a passive continental margin formed as South America and the Yucatan Peninsula ripped away from North America, forming beautiful beaches and barrier islands.
Continental Rift Zone Landscapes—Lava Beds National Monument (Labeled)
Lava Beds National Monument, California. Tule Lake basin is partially filled with sediments and lava flows.
Valles Caldera National Preserve, New Mexico
hikers on hill slope with valley and hills in background The explosive volcanic activity that formed the giant crater (“caldera”) is due to silica-rich (granitic) magma formed as hot asthenosphere rises and mel... More
Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
Badwater Basin in Death Valley National Park is the lowest point in North America, 282 feet below sea level. The valley and surrounding mountain ranges are on the western edge of the Basin and Range Province.
Forming the Coast Range—Ranger Jen’s Oreo Demo
Jennifer Natoli was a seasonal ranger at Redwood National and State Parks in California. In her version of the Oreo® cookie demonstration, the creamy filling is the layers of sediment and basalt on the ocean fl... More
Convergent Plate Boundaries—katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska
The valley of ten thousand smokes. Public domain photograph of Alaska volcanic mountains, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Passive Continental Margin—Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts
The beautiful beaches of the East Coast are part of a passive continental margin formed as the Atlantic Ocean opened and the edge of North America subsided and was covered by thick layers of sand and mud.
Continental Rift Zone Landscapes—Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument, California. Tule Lake basin is partially filled with sediments and lava flows.
Divergent Plate Boundaries—Mojave National Preserve, California
Lanfair Valley (basin) Public domain photograph of mountain range, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park—Fountain Eruption
Fountain eruption during the 1959 eruption of Kilauea Iki. Public domain photograph of a volcano, eruption, volcanic smoke, ashes, lava, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Lava Tube Roof Collapse (Skylight)
View through a collapsed roof (skylight) of red-hot lava flowing through a lava tube during 1969–1974 eruption of Mauna Ulu.
Hawaii Volcanoes—Cinder Cone - Public Domain image, National Parks Gal...
Pu'u O'o is a cinder cone formed by a fountain eruption during the ongoing activity on Kilauea Volcano that began in 1983.
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park—Volcano Monitoring
Pu'u O'o is a cinder cone formed by a fountain eruption during the ongoing activity on Kilauea Volcano that began in 1983.
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Mammoth Hot...
Mammoth Hot Springs—Mammoth Hot Springs form in the northern part of the park where the hot water flows through limestone. Dissolved calcium carbonate is deposited on the surface as beautiful terraces.
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Mammoth Hot...
Mammoth Hot Springs Terrace Public domain photograph by National Parks Administration, nature conservation, tourism, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Sawmill Gey...
Sawmill Geyser Public domain photograph by National Parks Administration, nature conservation, tourism, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Crested Pool, Upper Geyser Basin, Yellowstone
A Continental Hotspot in the Yellowstone area results in many volcanic and geothermal features, including this hot spring pool. Crested Pool, Upper Geyser Basin.
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Heart Sprin...
Heart Spring Public domain photograph by National Parks Administration, nature conservation, tourism, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Fishing Con...
Fishing Cone Spring. Hot Springs develop where the geothermal waters flow freely to the surface.
Yellowstone Hydrothermal Features: Hot Springs and Geysers—Old Faithfu...
Old Faithful geyser. Geysers form where dissolved silica from rhyolite volcanic rocks constricts flow. Under pressure, the superheated water flashes from liquid to gas, propelling the column of water upward thr... More
This dynamic planet : world map of volcanoes, earthquakes, impact crat...
Available also through the Library of Congress Web site as a raster image.
Collisional Mountains—Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, ...
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. NPS sites in northern Alaska are vast wilderness areas that lie in the Brooks Range, a collisional mountain range that is younger and higher than the Appa... More
Grocery Store Tectonics (1 of 5) Without Labels
A grocery store checkout counter can be used to demonstrate the gradual growth of a continent via terrane accretion. The conveyer belt represents the oceanic plate subducting beneath the continental plate. The ... More
Grocery Store Tectonics (2 of 5)
A grocery store checkout counter can be used to demonstrate the gradual growth of a continent via terrane accretion. The conveyer belt represents the oceanic plate subducting beneath the continental plate. The ... More
Grocery Store Tectonics (5 of 5)
A grocery store checkout counter can be used to demonstrate the gradual growth of a continent via terrane accretion. The conveyer belt represents the oceanic plate subducting beneath the continental plate. The ... More
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii. The Hawaiian Islands form due to volcanic activity as the Pacific Plate rides over a hotspot rising from deep within the Earth's mantle.
Isle Royale National Park, Michigan
The dark-colored lava flows formed over a billion years ago in the Keweenawan Rift, as the ancient North American continent tried to rip apart and low-silica (basaltic) magma poured out on the surface.
Grocery Store Tectonics (4 of 5)
A grocery store checkout counter can be used to demonstrate the gradual growth of a continent via terrane accretion. The conveyer belt represents the oceanic plate subducting beneath the continental plate. The ... More
Grocery Store Tectonics (3 of 5)
A grocery store checkout counter can be used to demonstrate the gradual growth of a continent via terrane accretion. The conveyer belt represents the oceanic plate subducting beneath the continental plate. The ... More
Subduction Zone—Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska
The rock layers are lifting out of the sea as the Pacific Plate subducts beneath southern Alaska.
Passive Continental Margin (Ancient)—Grand Canyon National Park, Arizo...
The layering in the upper part of the canyon formed over 200 million years ago, when the Colorado Plateau region was part of an ancient passive continental margin.
Basin and Range—Death Valley National Park, California and Nevada
Divergent plate boundary Picryl description: Public domain photograph of National Park, nature, free to use, no copyright restrictions image.
Accreted Terraines—Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska
Nicole Bader, GIP intern - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Nicole Bader, GIP intern explaining plate tectonics at Glacier National Park, Montana.
Subduction Accreted Terrane—Redwood National and State Parks, Californ...
The Coastal Ranges are forming as material from the ocean is scraped off the top of the subducting Juan de Fuca Plate.
Accreted Terranes—Denali National Park, Alaska.
Denali National Park, Alaska. Denali (also formerly known as Mt. McKinley) and other high peaks in the Alaska Range are built on crust that thickened as terranes came crashing in from the south.
Plate Tectonics on Europa, NASA / JPL Europa Image
Scientists have found evidence of plate tectonics on Jupiter moon Europa. This conceptual illustration of the subduction process. NASA/Noah Kroese, I.NK
Passive Continental Margin—Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
Sunny beach, Canaveral National Seashore, 2015.
Oceanic Hotspot—Hawaii Volcanoes
The Hawaiian hotspot continues to build the Hawaiian island chain. Eruption of Halema‘uma‘u in 2015.
Lava and steam on the coastline of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Volcanic activity above the Hawaii Hotspot continues to build the chain of islands. A steam plume from lava flowing into the ocean can be seen in the distance.
A river flowing through a lush green canyon. Tectonic plates canyon ri...
A river flows through a canyon in iceland / A river runs through a canyon public domain stock photo.
Oceanic Hot Spot—Havaii Volcanoes National Park, Hawaii
Basalt lava field and shoreline. Active flow of molten lava is entering the ocean in the distance causing a large plume of steam.
Diagram of a hotspot showing the upper layers of the Earth. (2 of 3)
Diagram of a hotspot showing the upper layers of the Earth and volcanoes on the surface as the tectonic plate moves over the hotspot.
Growth of the Pacific Northwest
200 million years ago the coastline of the Pacific Northwest was near Idaho’s western border. There was no Oregon and Washington!
Continental Rift Features—Keweenawan Rift
Basalt lava flow rocks in Isle Royale National Park formed when the Keweenawan Rift attempted to rip the North American continent apart 1.1 billion years ago.
San Andreas Card Trick - Public Domain image, National Parks Gallery
Deformation along the transform plate boundary in California can be visualized by placing a deck of cards between your hands in a praying position.
Ofu and Olosega Islands—National Park of American Samoa
The Samoan Islands are forming as the Pacific Plate moves west-northwestward over the Samoan Hotspot.
Tectonic Evolution of the Southern Appalachian Mountains—300 Million Y...
300 Million Years Ago—Iapetus Ocean Completely Closes. The Southern Appalachians develop as the African portion of Gondwanaland crashes in, forming the supercontinent of Pangea.
NPS Sites in Continental Rift Zones - Public domain map
Shaded relief map of United States, highlighting National Park Service lands in modern and ancient Continental Rift Zones. Letters are abbreviations for park names.
Formation of Crater Lake—Low-Silica Eruptions
Later eruptions of low-silica magma partially filled the caldera with basalt lava flows and cinder cones, including what is now Wizard Island. (The photo on the right is actually Aniakchak Volcano in Aniakchak ... More
Evolution of Hawaiian Volcanoes
The Big Island of Hawaii is the most volcanically active place on Earth. Off and on for the past 700,000 years, material has been pouring out, piling flow upon flow onto the growing shield volcanoes. Unlike com... More
Layers in Grand Canyon National Park Tell a Plate-Tectonic Story—Middl...
The Grand Canyon Supergroup consists of continental rift valley strata preserved beneath the passive margin layers.
Accretionary Wedge in Southern Alaska—Quartzite and Slate
Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. Layers of sandstone and shale deposited on the top of the Pacific Plate were later metamorphosed to quartzite and slate as the plate subducted beneath southern Alaska, and th... More
Collisional Mountain Range Development (3 of 3)
A collisional mountain range forms as an entire ocean closes and blocks of thick continental crust collide.
A Transported Volcanic Landscape—Pinnacles National Park
This subduction zone landscape was later plucked from the edge of the North American Plate and transported nearly 200 miles northwestward along the San Andreas Fault.
Tectonic Evolution of the Brooks Range—"Today"
The Arctic Ocean opens on the north. After eroding away up to 10 miles (16 kilometers) of rock, there is still a small crustal root that maintains mountain heights much greater than those seen today in the Appalachians.
Landscapes of North Cascades National Park
Snow-covered Mt. Baker, looking west from the North Cascades National Park, Washington. The active volcano results from the ongoing subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate beneath North America. It pokes up throug... More
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument—Sheep Rock (Labeled)
Sheep Rock in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is capped by resistent Columbia Plateau Basalt. Softer layers of lake, river, and volcanic ash deposits contain an extraordinary array of horse and other fossils.
Virgin Islands National Park - Public Domain image, National Parks Gal...
Virgin Islands National Park is a sheared-up landscape forming as the Carribean Plate slides eastward past the oceanic part of the North American Plate.
Illustration of Hawaiian Island Attributes
The Big Island of Hawaii is the most volcanically active place on Earth. Off and on for the past 700,000 years, material has been pouring out, piling flow upon flow onto the growing shield volcanoes. Unlike com... More
San Andreas Fault Disrupts an Ancient Subduction Zone
The San Andreas Fault is part of a transform plate boundary that disrupts the topography of an ancient subduction zone. Letters in ovals are abbreviations for NPS.
NPS Sites along Atlantic and Gulf Coasts
Map of eastern United States, showing locations of National Park Service sites along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. The coastal plain and continental shelf mark the current transition from... More
Illustration of Magma Chamber - Public Domain image, National Parks Ga...
Magma accumulates in a chamber beneath a volcano as lava erupts through the summit and along fissures on the flanks. At times the magma inflates and erupts a large volume of material that partially empties the chamber.
Rift Zone Volcanic Features—Sunset Crater Volcano
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, Arizona. Another prominent cinder cone, Sunset Crater Volcano, forms where volcanic activity associated with the Basin and Range Province is encroaching on the western e... More
Lava Surfaces—Pahoehoe Lava - Public Domain image, National Parks Gall...
Pahoehoe lava has a smooth, ropey surface, formed when the lava is very hot and free-flowing. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.
Tau Island—National Park of American Samoa
The Samoan Islands consist of interlocking shield volcanoes with basalt lava flows, cinder cones, and collapse calderas.
The Landscapes of Southeast Alaska—Wrangell–St. Elias National Park
Mt. St. Elias is the second-highest peak in the United States. It consists of metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Chugach Terrane.
Haleakala National Park—Vertical Dike
A vertical dike was once magma that cooled and hardened on the flanks of Haleakala Volcano.
Shear Zone Map - National Parks Gallery
The San Andreas Fault is just one of many active earthquake faults in a broad zone of shearing along the transform plate boundary in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Crater Lake - geologic resources division
Crater Lake in Crater Lake National Park partially fills the large depression formed when a composite volcano erupted and collapsed in on itself 7,700 years ago.
West Coast Tectonic Evolution—20 Million Years Ago
As the mid-ocean ridge separating the Farallon and Pacific Plates entered the subduction zone, the Farallon Plate separated into the Juan de Fuca and Cocos Plates. A transform plate boundary developed where the... More
Tectonic Development of the Appalachian—Ouachita—Marathon Mountain Ran...
500 Million Years Ago—Iapetus Ocean Opens. Land that will later become Florida is part of Africa. The Yucatan Peninsula and Cuba may have been on the north side of South America.
Convergent Plate Boundary Development—Subduction (1 of 3)
Where tectonic plates converge, the one with thin oceanic crust subducts beneath the one capped by thick continental crust. A subduction zone consists of material scraped off the ocean floor near the coast (acc... More
Ancient Subduction Zone—Yosemite National Park, California
The light-colored granite rocks are the cooled remnants of magma chambers that fed ancient volcanoes when the subduction zone extended through California and into Mexico.
San Andreas Fault—San Francisco Bay
Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California. Long ridges and valleys around San Francisco Bay are in the zone of shearing along the transform plate boundary.
Tectonic Development of the Appalachian—Ouachita—Marathon Mountain Ran...
250 Million Years Ago—Iapetus Ocean Closes. Pangea forms as the continents collide. The Appalachians are part of a larger zone of continental collision that includes the Marathon and Ouachita mountains in the s... More
Buoyancy Illustration - geologic resources division
Where tectonic plates converge, the one with dense, thin oceanic crust subducts beneath the one with thick, more buoyant continental crust.
National Park of American Samoa—Seafloor Coral
The floor of the Pacific Ocean is scarred with numerous tracks of islands, coral reefs, and submerged seamounts.
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument—Sheep Rock
Sheep Rock in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument is capped by resistent Columbia Plateau Basalt. Softer layers of lake, river, and volcanic ash deposits contain an extraordinary array of horse and other fossils.
West Coast Tectonic Evolution—Today
The Cascades are the modern volcanic arc developing where the Juan de Fuca Plate subducts beneath the North American Plate. The Sierra Nevada are the eroded remnants of the volcanic arc developed when the Faral... More
The Landscapes of Southeast Alaska—Glacier Bay National Park
Glaciers break up into icebergs (calve) as they enter the sea. Mountains in the background are parts of terranes that have recently been accreted to North America.
Shaded Relief Map of North America and Continental Shelf
The thick continental crust of North America is surrounded by crust of the continental shelf (grey color) that thinned and submerged as the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico opened.
Volcanoes on the Big Island of Hawaii
The Big Island called Hawaii has five active volcanoes, including Mauna Loa and Kilauea in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (HAVO). Recent volcanic eruptions are commonly out of rift zones on the flanks of the vo... More
Beach Sediments—Fire Island - Public Domain image, National Parks Gall...
Fire Island National Seashore, New York. Fire Island has deposits from the continental ice sheet (terminal moraines) that were reworked by wave action.
Collisional Mountain Range Development (2 of 3)
The ocean closes as a continent with thick crust approaches the subduction zone.
![West Coast Tectonic Evolution—40 Million Years Ago [1 of 3]](https://cache.getarchive.net/Prod/thumb/cdn2/L3Bob3RvLzIwMTkvMDEvMDEvd2VzdC1jb2FzdC10ZWN0b25pYy1ldm9sdXRpb240MC1taWxsaW9uLXllYXJzLWFnby0xLW9mLTMtOTZhMzRmLTEwMjQuanBn/40/41/webp "West Coast Tectonic Evolution—40 Million Years Ago [1 of 3]")
West Coast Tectonic Evolution—40 Million Years Ago [1 of 3]
Forty million years ago, a large tectonic plate, known as the Farallon Plate, was between the Pacific and North American plates. Subduction of the Farallon Plate beneath the entire West Coast created a line of ... More
Closing the Iapetus Ocean - Public Domain image, National Parks Galler...
The Appalachian Mountains formed from terrane accretion and the collision of Gondwanaland with ancient North America as the Iapetus Ocean closed. Note that Shenandoah National Park lies within the state of Virg... More
The Landscapes of Denali National Park Reveal Different Accreted Terra...
The Toklat River is fed by glaciers coming off the Alaska Range, and flows across the Yukon–Tanana Terrane on the north side of the park.
Emperor Hotspot Track—Ocean Floor
The topography and bathymetry (underwater topography) of the northern Pacific Ocean reflect the movement of the Pacific Plate over the Hawaiian Hotspot. Prior to 42 million years ago, the Pacific Plate was movi... More
Physical States of Earth's Layers
diagram of earth structure 3 main layers with additional layers to show physical states—liquid and solid Left: Diagram of the different physical states due to increasing temperature and pressure with depth. Rig... More
Growth of the Pacific Northwest—Cross-section Illustration
Sometimes a terrane crashes in and clogs the subduction zone. A new subduction zone develops farther west. The Cascadia Subduction Zone is just the latest of several subduction zones that developed in the weste... More
Cascadia Subduction Zone Diagram
The Coast Range and Cascades are the two parallel mountain ranges that form the Cascadia Subduction Zone in the Pacific Northwest. The forearc basin is the Willamette Valley in Oregon and Puget Sound in Washington.
Formation of Crater Lake—Deepest Lake in the World
The coating of volcanic materials sealed the bottom of the caldera. Over a few centuries rain and snowmelt partially filled the hole with the waters of Crater Lake. At 1,943 feet (592 meters), Crater Lake is th... More
Development of Hexagonal Columns
As a lava flow cools it shrinks, putting the surface of the flow under tensional forces that form cracks, known as “joints.” If the cooling is uniform, circular columns try to form, but there are spaces between... More
Mauna Loa—Tallest Mountain on Earth
Hawaiian shield volcanoes have enormous height and volume. Mauna Loa (the “Long Mountain”) starts 18,000 feet (5,500 meters) below sea level, and rises to nearly 14,000 feet (4,300 meters) above sea level. From... More
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park—Lava Tube
Entrance to much older Pua Poo Lava Tube. Public domain photograph of a cave, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description