Plate Tectonics

According to plate tectonics, the Earth's outermost layer, the lithosphere, is broken into 7 large pieces called plates. These plates are: The african, North merican, South American, Erasian, Australian, Antartic, and Pacific plates.Each plate moves in different directions and at different speeds (from 2cm to 10 cm per year which is about the spped your finernails grow). The plates move around and crash into each other, pull apart from each other, and sideswipe each other. The place where these plates meet is called a plate boundary. Each boundary has a different name depending on how the two plates are moving in relationship to each other. - Crashing plates are Convergent Boundaries - Pulling apart plates are Divergent Boundaries - Sideswiping plates are Transformation Boundaries

Plate Tectonics

Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building

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Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building are the result of tectonic plate movement. At convergent boundaries which plates crash or crunch together. All the folding and bending makes rock in poth plates slip, causing earthquakes. The build up of rocks pushing together is what forms mountains. At divergent boundaries where plates are moving apart from each other, earthquakes occur and volcanoes form where the magma reaches the surface. At transformation boundaries where plates slide past each other, no tearing or crunching occur. These are mainly known for causing earthquakes.