Britannica Educational Publishing IN ASSOCIATION WITH ROSEN EDUCATIONAL SERVICES LET’S FIND OUT OUR DYNAMIC EARTH PLATE TECTONICS JULIA J QUINLAN
EARTH'S PLATES AND THEIR MOVEMENTS As we go about our daily lives Earth feels firm beneath our feet It may come as a surprise that Earth is really covered in plates that are slowly moving Earth is covered in a rigid outer layer called the lithosphere Under the lithosphere is a soft layer of melted rock called the asthenosphere The lithosphere is broken up into about a dozen large plates and several small plates These plates move slowly North American Plate Eurasian Plate Eurasian Plate Juan de Fuca Plate Caribbean Plate As you can see from this map Earth's plates are a mix of different sizes and shapes Philippine Plate Cocos Plate Arabian Plate Pacific Plate African do Australian Plate Plate Nazca Plate South American Plate Antarctic Plate Scotia Plate 0 1 500 3 000 miles 0 1 500 3 000 kilometers 2006 Eylepuder
The Himalayas are a mountain range in Asia They were formed by plate movements only about 2 to 4 inches 5 to 10 centimeters per year Think About It Do you think it takes hundreds thousands or millions of years for a mountain to form The movements of these plates have a huge effect on our planet Sudden plate movements can cause earthquakes The movements of the plates can also form mountains and volcanoes Over long spans of time the movement of the plates known as plate tectonics can change the shape of continents and oceans Scientists study plate tectonics to better understand the history of our planet 5
