Karros: The Birth of a World (WIP)

[Ascension]

I know it's not much but...that's a very interesting shape...I'm diggin it.

[Karro]

You didn't make any at all? Or did you just not show them here? They're going to influence what's going on at the coastlines of your continent - an ocean plate subducting under a continental plate will cause volcanoes and mountains along the coastline, an ocean plate subducting under another ocean plate will result in island arcs like Japan as the sediment piles up to make islands, etc.

I haven't done any yet since I am trying to get ahold of my "partner in crime" for the map. Actually since you seem to know what you're doing, here's the alpha map. You are more than welcome to scrutinize it and throw out some pointers/images on where you think would be good for fault lines (both oceanic and land based).

I think what EDG is trying to say is that not only the land masses but also those portions of the world that are below land are parts of tectonic plates, whether continental or oceanic, and that these plates all interact with each other. Further, tectonic plates are continuous around the globe.

The way you currently have this divided up, if we assume that this one land mass represents the sole super-continent on the planet, then there are a large number of smaller continental plates that make up this land mass, and then one ginormous oceanic plate that makes up the rest of the (submerged) surface of the world, and which completely encompasses the smaller plates.

If this is the case, the tectonics will make for a world very different from earth, at least in the short term. I'm honestly not really sure how the plates would move when these smaller plates crash against the super-plate. At any rate, your next step, if you decide that this is in fact the way of this world, would be to determine the relative movements of each of the plates. In my own world-building, I worked with the assumption that tectonic plates follow something similar to a coriolis pattern (albeit flowing on currents of subterranean magma), but a massive super-plate is likely to disrupt that pattern considerably. (Also, I'm not sure that it would necessarily be true that plates would follow a coriolis pattern, but at least it made sense to me, and gave me some logic for how and why my plates were moving in the directions they were moving.)

[Nomadic]

I think what EDG is trying to say is that not only the land masses but also those portions of the world that are below land are parts of tectonic plates, whether continental or oceanic, and that these plates all interact with each other. Further, tectonic plates are continuous around the globe.

The way you currently have this divided up, if we assume that this one land mass represents the sole super-continent on the planet, then there are a large number of smaller continental plates that make up this land mass, and then one ginormous oceanic plate that makes up the rest of the (submerged) surface of the world, and which completely encompasses the smaller plates.

If this is the case, the tectonics will make for a world very different from earth, at least in the short term. I'm honestly not really sure how the plates would move when these smaller plates crash against the super-plate. At any rate, your next step, if you decide that this is in fact the way of this world, would be to determine the relative movements of each of the plates. In my own world-building, I worked with the assumption that tectonic plates follow something similar to a coriolis pattern (albeit flowing on currents of subterranean magma), but a massive super-plate is likely to disrupt that pattern considerably. (Also, I'm not sure that it would necessarily be true that plates would follow a coriolis pattern, but at least it made sense to me, and gave me some logic for how and why my plates were moving in the directions they were moving.)

No what I meant was that I hadn't yet decided on the placement for oceanic plates. Even the land plates aren't a certainty yet. So I just glossed the ocean over for now until I am sure how I want the plates to separate.

In other news my partner in crime showed up and said he was willing to help work with me to figure plate placement and drifting. That doesn't rule out the ability for you all to give feedback on your ideas. Things are still very new so it's all just beginning to get going. This is the tedious part where the map layout is decided (the fun part comes when we actually start 'coloring' the map).

[Karro]

No what I meant was that I hadn't yet decided on the placement for oceanic plates. Even the land plates aren't a certainty yet. So I just glossed the ocean over for now until I am sure how I want the plates to separate.

In other news my partner in crime showed up and said he was willing to help work with me to figure plate placement and drifting. That doesn't rule out the ability for you all to give feedback on your ideas. Things are still very new so it's all just beginning to get going. This is the tedious part where the map layout is decided (the fun part comes when we actually start 'coloring' the map).

Ah, I missed that point.

Well, then, good luck!

[NymTevlyn]

Some of the land plates would probably subside below the oceanic plates while others would rise up and slide over them. The edges on some may even go down or up, creating new land, new undersea mountain ranges then islands, or massive trenches that are really deep.

[Nomadic]

Some of the land plates would probably subside below the oceanic plates while others would rise up and slide over them. The edges on some may even go down or up, creating new land, new undersea mountain ranges then islands, or massive trenches that are really deep.

Land Plates subducting under ocean ones would have to be exceedingly rare (I am not sure if it has ever happened). Plates subduct because one is heavier than the other (and ocean plates are heavier than land plates).

Anyhow, an update. After talking around and looking around I have updated the land plates map a bit. Thoughts?

[EDG]

Land Plates subducting under ocean ones would have to be exceedingly rare (I am not sure if it has ever happened). Plates subduct because one is heavier than the other (and ocean plates are heavier than land plates).

Land plates also generally have trouble subducting under ocean plates because the continental crust is just the 'scum' that's been scraped off from the top of subducting ocean plates that have built up over time.

Anyhow, an update. After talking around and looking around I have updated the land plates map a bit. Thoughts?

Something doesn't look right to me. The two plates in the upper right are at least big enough for the continental crust to have somewhere to go, as is the one on the far left. But the continental crust on the other plates can't really do anything at all (I'm not even sure how the L-shaped plate in the bottom right works). Think of the plates as a conveyor belt, with the continents on top - where can that interior continental crust go? Especially if it all splits at that triple boundary in the middle of the continent. And again it would help if we could see the ocean plates too that surround these ones - then we can get a better idea of how things will move around, where the spreading centres are, etc.

Take a look at Earth for comparison:
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/plate_tectonics.gif

[Nomadic]

Something doesn't look right to me. The two plates in the upper right are at least big enough for the continental crust to have somewhere to go, as is the one on the far left. But the continental crust on the other plates can't really do anything at all (I'm not even sure how the L-shaped plate in the bottom right works).

I am not sure what you mean, could you explain in layman's terms?

And again it would help if we could see the ocean plates too that surround these ones - then we can get a better idea of how things will move around, where the spreading centres are, etc.

I can't put ocean plates in until I know what I want to do with the land plates. I don't want to force myself into a corner.

Take a look at Earth for comparison:
http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/images/plate_tectonics.gif

Yes I based this map off that one. So if I am not getting it right with that there's probably nothing I can do myself.

[EDG]

I am not sure what you mean, could you explain in layman's terms?

I did :

Think of the plates as a conveyor belt, with the continents on top.

That's it really. Plates move whatever is on top of them in a particular direction. At its simplest: at one boundary you'll create new plate material (at the rifts/midocean ridges) and that will push the plate along toward the other side, where you'll get subduction (and continental material there will pile up at the boundary to form mountains), and along the sides you'll get strike/slip zones where plates grind past eachother and cause earthquakes.

So you have to look at your boundaries here and decide what they're doing. Are they upcurrents, splitting apart and forming new crust? Or are they subduction zones? or strike/slip zones?

There must have been other plates there previously to have made that continent in the first place. IIRC usually when you form a supercontinent, the old plate boundaries seize up and disappear for a bit, and then as heat builds up underneath the thicker crust there new boundaries form and the continent splits apart - so you should have big rift valleys forming along those boundaries that go through the middle of the supercontinent, and you can use that to figure out what the other boundaries are doing.

I would say lose the L shaped plate and turn it into two separate plates instead - I think it makes a lot more sense for nature to form roughly square/rectangular plates than ones bent at right-angles.

I can't put ocean plates in until I know what I want to do with the land plates. I don't want to force myself into a corner.

TBH I think you already have forced yourself into a corner a bit... why not start from the other end - draw the plates first, then figure out the shape of the continent from that? Or maybe even draw the plates as they were in the previous tectonic cycle, before the continents on them collided to form the supercontinent - and then reset the plates and start again and break up the continent. Then you'll have old mountain ranges there too as well as new ones.

[Nomadic]

I did ...

No that's not what I meant... here let me highlight what I am confused about (I don't know what you mean).

"Something doesn't look right to me. The two plates in the upper right are at least big enough for the continental crust to have somewhere to go, as is the one on the far left. But the continental crust on the other plates can't really do anything at all (I'm not even sure how the L-shaped plate in the bottom right works)."

There must have been other plates there previously to have made that continent in the first place. IIRC usually when you form a supercontinent, the old plate boundaries seize up and disappear for a bit, and then as heat builds up underneath the thicker crust there new boundaries form and the continent splits apart - so you should have big rift valleys forming along those boundaries that go through the middle of the supercontinent, and you can use that to figure out what the other boundaries are doing.

This was actually originally the first super continent after everything had risen and collected. I am not sure if it will still be but if it is there won't be old boundaries, just places where things are coming apart.

I would say lose the L shaped plate and turn it into two separate plates instead - I think it makes a lot more sense for nature to form roughly square/rectangular plates than ones bent at right-angles.

Fair enough.

TBH I think you already have forced yourself into a corner a bit... why not start from the other end - draw the plates first, then figure out the shape of the continent from that? Or maybe even draw the plates as they were in the previous tectonic cycle, before the continents on them collided to form the supercontinent - and then reset the plates and start again and break up the continent. Then you'll have old mountain ranges there too as well as new ones.

As you can see, plates are my weakpoint (while working with landmass maps is my strength). So I am trying to go from a strong point and use that to work with something I am not good at. I can't just come up with plates without something to work with, I need the continent map as a guide.

I will look into it and see about how I can make it rift right.