Plate Tectonics

Project: Plate Tectonics

There are eight major plates on the surface of the Earth. There are also bunches of minor plates. They constantly move around the planet. Plates move about 10 cm per year. The tectonic plates are floating on top of the molten rock and moving around the planet which is called continental drift. When the floating plates spread apart, it's called a spreading center. When they are moving together, it's called a subduction zone. When they are forced together, it is called a zone of convergence. There were about 3 times when the land masses were in clumps, the oldest about 1 billion years ago, that is the Rodinia, next was called the Pannotia and the most recent one, Pangaea.  First Pangaea broke in half into two pieces, Laurasia and Gondwana. Then Laurasia broke up into North America, Europe and Asia. Gondwana broke up into South America, Africa, Antartica, and Australia. North America and South America are gradually moving away from Europe and Africa, so that the Atlantic Ocean is getting bigger and the Pacific Ocean is getting smaller. The California edge of the Pacific Ocean is ramming into North America and sliding past it, causing earthquakes in California and forming the Rocky Mountains.

Compiled from various sources