Which of the following plate boundaries is moving the fastest?

Rates of motions of the major plates range from less than 1 cm/y to over 10 cm/y. The Pacific Plate is the fastest at over 10 cm/y in some areas, followed by the Australian and Nazca Plates. The North American Plate is one of the slowest, averaging around 1 cm/y in the south up to almost 4 cm/y in the north.

What plates are moving the fastest?

It is apparent that the plates are moving at significantly different rates, ranging from 1 to 20 cm/year. The Pacific, Nazca, Cocos, and Indian plates are moving faster than the slower moving North American, South American, and Antarctic plates.

Why is the Pacific plate the fastest moving plate?

It is classified as a right lateral (dextral) strike-slip fault. Although both plates are moving in a north westerly direction, the Pacific Plate is moving faster than the North American Plate, so the relative movement of the North American Plate is to the south east.

Do tectonic plates move fast or slow?

They move at a rate of one to two inches (three to five centimeters) per year.

What causes the Nazca plate to move?

The Nazca Plate is moving eastwards, towards the South American Plate, at about 79mm per year. The friction between the plates prevents the subducting oceanic plate from sliding smoothly. … As it descends, it drags against the overlying plate, causing both to fracture and deform.

What causes the plates to move?

The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift.

What happens when tectonic plates move?

When the plates move they collide or spread apart allowing the very hot molten material called lava to escape from the mantle. When collisions occur they produce mountains, deep underwater valleys called trenches, and volcanoes. … The Earth is producing “new” crust where two plates are diverging or spreading apart.

What are the 4 types of tectonic plate movement?

There are four types of boundaries between tectonic plates that are defined by the movement of the plates: divergent and convergent boundaries, transform fault boundaries, and plate boundary zones.

What would happen if the tectonic plates continue to move?

Plate tectonics moves the continents around on a scale of 100s of millions of year. … Plate tectonics also has an impact on longer-term climate patterns and these will change over time. It also changes ocean current patterns, heat distribution over the planet, and the evolution and speciation of animals.

Is there a possibility that Pangea can happen again?

The last supercontinent, Pangea, formed around 310 million years ago, and started breaking up around 180 million years ago. It has been suggested that the next supercontinent will form in 200-250 million years, so we are currently about halfway through the scattered phase of the current supercontinent cycle.

Why is Hawaii moving towards Japan?

Hawaii is moving towards Japan at the speed of 10cm a year. This is because they are on different tectonic plates.

Which part of Pangea broke apart first?

They all existed as a single continent called Pangea. Pangea first began to be torn apart when a three-pronged fissure grew between Africa, South America, and North America.

What are the 3 causes of plate movement?

Mantle dynamics, gravity, and Earth’s rotation taken altogether causes the plate movements. However, convectional currents are the general thought for the motion.

Which way are the tectonic plates moving?

The Pacific Plate is moving to the northwest at a speed of between 7 and 11 centimeters (cm) or ~3-4 inches a year. The North American plate is moving to the west-southwest at about 2.3 cm (~1 inch) per year driven by the spreading center that created the Atlantic Ocean, the Mid Atlantic Ridge.

Are the plates moving?

Earth > Plates on the Move

But its outer shell or surface is actually moving all the time. Around the world, mountains form, volcanoes erupt, and earthquakes shake. Why?

Is the Nazca Plate subducting?

The Nazca plate is a large tectonic plate that underlies the Pacific Ocean near the western coast of South America. It is subducting under (that is, being forced under) the South American plate.

How is the Nazca plate moving in relation to the Pacific plate?

The Nazca and the Pacific plate share both divergent and transform type of plate boundary. The Pacific and the Nazca plate are separating at an increasing rate of about 122-142mm/year. These are the regions where the rate of tectonic activity is very high.

Where can the result of plate movement be seen?

The result of plate movement can be seen at plate boundaries and rift valleys.

Do earthquakes cause plates to move?

An earthquake is the sudden movement of Earth’s crust. Earthquakes occur along fault lines, cracks in Earth’s crust where tectonic plates meet. They occur where plates are subducting, spreading, slipping, or colliding. … A magnitude 6 earthquake is considered major, causing houses to move and chimneys to fall.

Which process causes the continents to move?

Today, we know that the continents rest on massive slabs of rock called tectonic plates. The plates are always moving and interacting in a process called plate tectonics. The continents are still moving today. … As the seafloor grows wider, the continents on opposite sides of the ridge move away from each other.

What happens when two tectonic plates collide?

If two tectonic plates collide, they form a convergent plate boundary. Usually, one of the converging plates will move beneath the other, a process known as subduction. … The new magma (molten rock) rises and may erupt violently to form volcanoes, often building arcs of islands along the convergent boundary.