Answer: Each tectonic plate is free-floating and can move independently. Earthquakes and volcanoes are the direct result of the movement of tectonic plates at fault lines. The term fault is used to describe the boundary between tectonic plates. Most of the earthquakes and volcanoes around the Pacific ocean basin—a pattern known as the “ring of fire”—are due to the movement of tectonic plates in this region. Other observable results of short-term plate movement include the gradual widening of the Great Rift lakes in eastern Africa and the rising of the Himalayan Mountain range. The motion of plates can be described in four general patterns:
Collision: when two continental plates are shoved together
Subduction: when one plate plunges beneath another (Fig. 7.15)
Spreading: when two plates are pushed apart
Transform faulting: when two plates slide past each other
The rise of the Himalayan Mountain range is due to an ongoing collision of the Indian plate with the Eurasian plate. Earthquakes in California are due to transform fault motion.
Geologists have hypothesized that the movement of tectonic plates is related to convection currents in the earth’s mantle. Convection currents describe the rising, spread, and sinking of gas, liquid, or molten material caused by the application of heat. An example of convection current is shown in Fig. 7.16. Inside a beaker, hot water rises at the point where heat is applied. The hot water moves to the surface, then spreads out and cools. Cooler water sinks to the bottom.
