The movement of tectonic plates are responsible for formation of varying relief features. Explain?
Answers
Explanation:
For instance, you may have heard that person declare that at some point in the near future, California is going to break off and fall into the ocean. My older brother told me that the Golden State is hanging off the end of the continent and will fall into the Pacific Ocean during the next big earthquake. Do the tectonic plates, or giant pieces of the Earth's crust that fit together and move around on the Earth's surface, really move? If so, what causes them to move? The best stories are often based on fact, so it is helpful to know what is real versus what is not. Yes, tectonic plates move, and the mechanism that causes them to move is the subject of this lesson.
The part of my brother's story that is true is that the Western part of California, west of the San Andreas Fault, is moving in a different direction than the rest of the continent. The Western part of California is moving northwest at the rate of several centimeters per year. Looking to the future, California will indeed one day separate from the rest of North America and become an island. Where I think my brother got confused is the mechanism that will cause this to occur.
Tectonic plates move around and can cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.
First of all, it is important to know that the Earth's crust is broken up into large pieces called tectonic plates. Remember, tectonic plates are giant pieces of the Earth's crust that fit together and move around on the Earth's surface. This movement can be observed and measured using GPS systems, and the edges of the plates can be detected, as their edges can be seen. We also know that these plates move around with respect to one another. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the results of such plate movement. One question geologists have been trying to answer is: what is causing the plates of the Earth to move? This can be a challenging question because we are not able to get into the Earth's interior to observe it. There are several mechanisms that scientists have developed based on the observations of the plates and a deeper understanding of the inner layers of the Earth. These mechanisms operate at different points in the Earth and very well could complement each other, each assisting in moving the plate in its own fashion.
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