Téthys II

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/t-thys-ii

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the tectonic setting?Occurred between the supercontinents Laurasia and Gondwana, later evolving with continental drift
2. What is the related scientific disciplines?Paleogeography, plate tectonics, paleoceanography, stratigraphy, paleontology, structural geology
3. Why did Téthys II disappear?The ocean vanished when the plates that made up Gondwana moved northward. Their plates pushed the oceanic crust under the continents, causing volcanic activity and eventually building huge mountain ranges.
4. Where can we see evidence of Téthys II today?Scientists find its clues in mountain ranges like the Alps, Himalayas, Carpathians, Caucasus, and Zagros. Rocks there contain old ocean floor pieces, fossils, and layers that tell the story of the ancient sea.

Orogeny: The process of mountain formation, especially by folding and faulting of the Earth's crust.
Subduction: The process where one tectonic plate slides beneath another and sinks into the mantle.
Paleogeography: The study of the geographic features of the Earth's surface in past geological ages.