Amazing Plate Tectonics for Dummies

I, co-founder of this blog, am really glad you have reached our Blog. Here you can find lots of information and animations on plate tectonics and explosively amazing volcanoes. Also, see info on many earth -cracking earthquakes! You will not regret coming to our blog! I hope you enjoy!!!

About 150 years ago, people thought that the world was one big piece of crust, and that the continents had stayed in the same place forever. But, Alfred Wegener, a German climatologist, bought up the idea of continental drift, and Pangea. Eventually, after a series of experiments, he was proved right. One of his evidence samples is that the same fossils were found on completely different parts of the world. Also, have you ever noticed that South America tucks into Africa? The world was a big continent at one time. Even now, they are still on the move. Every year, the continents shift 1 cm.

A mid-ocean ridge is an underwater chain of mountains. They usually have a valley known as a rift running down their spine, usually formed by plate tectonics. The mid-ocean ridges are all connected, so they are the longest mountain ranges in the world. They make up a stunning 49,700 mile long mountain range. Sea floor spreading occurs on these mountains. New lava is instantly spurted and cooled due to the cool water. As the new land is formed, it pushes the older land away. The old land eventually either collides with another plate, or it subducts. This is called a subduction zone. All in all, this symbolizes the information on land formation and deconstruction.

There are three different types of boundaries that cause land masses. There is a convergent boundary, which can form mountains or trenches. The Swiss Alps were formed by a convergent boundary. There is also a divergent boundary. This is when two oceanic plates spread apart. There is also transform boundaries. These are when two plates rub together, causing earthquakes. For more info on earthquakes, and to create your own simulation, visit our link entitled: Cool earthquake and volcano sim by NG.