By Gabriel King

SO WHAT IS PLATE TECTONICS? Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin tectonicus, from the Greek: τεκτονικός "pertaining to building") (Little, Fowler & Coulson 1990) [1] is a scientific theory which describes the large scale motions of Earth's lithosphere.

Plate map in the eastern world.

WHEN PLATES MOVE THEY CREATE WHAT WE KNOW AS EARTHQUAKES

VOLCANOES AND PLATE TECTONICS Volcanoes are formed when the plates in the earth’s surface collide with one another.. Its almost like the Earth is stretching it’s land mass. Really, the Earth does not get bigger when the tectonic plates move around. These are the major world tectonic plates:

RIFT VALLEYS Rift valleys form by tensional forces, typically those associated with the initiation of plate separation. The development of a rift valley in a continent is believed to be a precursor to the breakup of the continent and the development of a new ocean basin by seafloor spreading. Rift valleys are then filled with water over a million year time span ( ocean valleys that is)

CONTINETAL DRIFT DUE TO PLATES Continental drift ( also called PANGAEA) is how the different continents today have moved around the years ( 900 million to be exact). Continental drift is all about the tectonic plates. When earthquakes happen as they did many years ago, the continents moved around over the times. Of course these earthquakes and tectonic plate movements had to be very dramatic, that they could actually move land masses. Today's earthquakes are similar, but don’t last as long as scientists think they did 900 million years ago. The breaking up and formation of supercontinents appears to be cyclical through Earth's 4.6 billion year history. There may have been several others beforPangaeae.

Map of Pangaea LINK TO ANIMATION WHAT PANGAEA IS THOUGHT TO BE

CONVERGANT BOUNDARIES In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary also known as a destructive plate boundary is an actively deforming region where two (or more) tectonic plates or fragments of lithosphere move toward one another and collide. These actions cause lots of damage to the environment around them.

USA TECTONIC PLATE JUAN DE fuca The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland, Cuba, Bahamas, and parts of Siberia and Iceland. The Juan de Fuca Plate, named after the explorer of the same name, is a tectonic plate, generated from the Juan de Fuca Ridge, and sub ducting under the northerly portion of the western side of the North American Plate at the Cascadia sub-duction zone.

TRANSFORM BOUNDARY Transform faults can be distinguished from the typical strike-slip faults because the sense of movement is in the opposite direction (see illustration above). A smaller number of transform faults cut continental lithosphere.

The future As you see more and more earthquakes on the news< we must face the challenges of the Juan de plate. This plate is believed to spark major earthquakes in the entire U.S. By the end of 2010 ( according to NASA) Scientists believe that the earthquakes around the world ( happening now) will be the cause of this plates. When all the plates move: ALL THE PLATES MOVE. Earthquakes are mostly unstoppable forces of nature. Many people believe global warming causes earthquakes, scientists have stated that some global warming factors can play a role in Earthquakes, but really earthquakes just happen.

bibliography en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics