Earth by Plate Tectonics (Literally)

      Billions of years ago the earth was a land of fire and lava. It was as hot as the surface of the sun. Many meteors hit the earth at this time, slowly forming it. Then it rained for millions of years and the earth cooled to form a volcanic crust. Water meteors hit the earth and formed oceans. The earth was a water world. A granite crust formed and the land began to appear. At this time stromatolites made oxygen, allowing the first organisms to appear. Rodinia, the first super continent, was formed, but it was a barren desert. Then there was a super freeze and the whole earth was covered in ice. When volcanoes broke the ice apart, it was revealed that the only life on earth had almost died. Then new animals appeared and the o-zone layer formed. Pangaea also formed and there were many tropical swamps. Many volcanoes and poison gases almost killed all the animals. The dinosaurs evolved and ruled the earth. Then Pangaea split apart into the continents and a giant meteor hit the earth killing off 75% of Earth's life. Life recovered and our ancestors took their first steps on Earth. There was also an ice age. Then the ice retreated and humans evolved into us. This all happened because of tectonic plates. Now we will be writing about the theory of tectonic plates.

      The theory of plate tectonics is the theory that there are giant plates floating on Earth's mantle. They are called lithospheric plates. They are driven by convection currents, or the expansion of really hot liquid, solid, or gas. Sometimes they collide, forming mountains, valleys, or canyons. They cause earthquakes and most of earth's natural disasters. The movement of these plates is one centimeter per year. Here are some examples of things plate tectonics cause.

Pangaea is evidence that plate tectonics exists. Years ago, archeologists didn't think that there was ever a super continent. They were proved wrong because of fossils. There were the same kinds of fossils separated by large oceans. The places the fossils were found had completely different climates. There was no way the same kind of animal could have lived so differently unless the places were once connected. The plates under the earth's surface had moved the land. They're still moving today. 

Below is what happened to the dinosaurs in their time. To make you understand how bad it was, we got it like we were the ones getting hit by the meteor and dying. It's kind of funny.

The ring of fire is basically a long chain of volcanoes that stretches from New Zealand to the coasts of North and South America. It is made of over 75% of the world's active and extinct volcanoes. The Ring of Fire has a lot of volcanic activity and many earthquakes. It is located at the boarders of some major tectonic plates. There are about 452 volcanoes(active and extinct) in the Ring of Fire.

Convergent boundaries happen when two plates collide. When to plates collide the more dense plate goes back into the mantle which is called subduction. Also when two plates collide they can form volcanoes and mountains. Divergent boundaries happen when two plates spread apart. When this happens new earth is formed. So actually the earth is still growing larger and larger! Iceland has a divergent boundary on the land and Iceland is also growing too.

Did you know that Earth's longest mountain chains are underwater? They are called mid-ocean ridges. They are more than 12,000 feet high and it's 3500 miles long! The mid-ocean ridge is also proof that the earth is growing it shows where the earth's crust is moving apart and making new land. the magma that rises is a  heat source that creates many sea floor hot springs and that heat transfers into the ocean slowly heating it up. Mid-ocean ridges are caused by plate tectonics.

      Everyone knows that earthquakes involve the ground shaking and things breaking and falling. But what causes them? Plate tectonics. The plates slide past each other, sometimes even catching some jagged edges on the other plate. This causes earthquakes and sometimes tsunamis if the occur in the middle of the ocean. Volcanoes are also a result of plate tectonics. These are caused by subducting plates, which is a process that involves a lithospheric plate going into the mantle because a larger plate forces it down. In other words, when two plates bump into eachother, the biggest plate always wins.  

      Faults are still more evidence of plate tectonics. They are places on earth's surface that are split into two pieces. We can't see them, but we can see their opposites. Reverse faults are when compression squeezes Earth's crust together and piece of land slides over another. This can create mountains. Another type of fault is a Transform fault. This happens when two plates slide or grind past each other, sometimes even causing earthquakes.

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