Plate Tectonics is a scientific theory that the earth was once all connected and now has separated into continents. Plate Tectonics has been the creator of many natural landmarks. It is responsible for forming such great landmarks such as
mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes. Plate Tectonics even had a major part in the Ice Ages. In discovering various locations on the earth, scientists found that there were “pieces” of earth or rocks that could also be found in other locations on earth, this led to the idea that maybe at one time location A was in fact connected to location B in the same sense of puzzle pieces fitting together. |
To fully understand the theory of Plate Tectonics we have to look at and study the earth’s surface. The earth’s crust is very thin and brittle. This crust extends down through the ocean floor and it is here that the crust is thinner than it is under the continents. Because of the brittleness of the crust it breaks apart and shifts all over the earth. The earth’s crust and the upper mantle form what is called the lithosphere. The lithosphere ideally is made up of eight major plates which are called North American, South American, Pacifica, Nazca, Eurasian, African, Antarctic, and Indian-Australian, with many small plates. (Alden) These plates are constantly moving in a slower form of motion. Changes in the lithosphere plate cause changes such as the construction of volcanoes, the formation and closure of large lakes, the erosion of mountains, the lowering of sea level, and the drying up of various bodies of water. During plate tectonics the plates collide causing the lithosphere to go downward. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/media/159264/A-general-discussion-of-plate-tectonics?topicId=463912
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It seems as though Pangaea was created when the convection with the Earth’s surface caused material to come up between the plates and rift zones which caused movement towards one another, which resulted in the combination of continents over millions of years creating Pangaea, a super continent. (Alden) Once Pangaea was formed it occupied around one-third of the Earth’s surface with an ocean named Panthalassa taking up the remaining space. (Alden)
By the 1950’s and on into the 1960’s the idea of Plate Tectonics was accepted due to the increased exploration of the Earth’s crust and ocean floor. It is said that even today the Earth’s surface is still in constant motion.
By the 1950’s and on into the 1960’s the idea of Plate Tectonics was accepted due to the increased exploration of the Earth’s crust and ocean floor. It is said that even today the Earth’s surface is still in constant motion.