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How Earth’s Plates Move
Age 13 · Science
Earth’s rigid outer shell is broken into huge plates that slowly drift on hotter, softer rock below. Where plates pull apart, new seafloor forms, and where one plate sinks beneath another, volcanoes and earthquakes happen.
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Age 13: open this week
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In the picture
- Mid-ocean ridge: plates spread apart and rising magma builds new seafloor
- Ocean trench: the dense oceanic plate sinks beneath the continental plate
- Volcano: melted rock from the sinking plate rises and erupts
- Asthenosphere: hot, soft rock that lets the plates slide
Examples
- Iceland sits on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, where the ground is splitting apart and volcanoes are common
- Japan and the Andes in South America have frequent earthquakes and volcanoes because ocean plates sink beneath them
Key takeaways
- Plates move only a few centimetres a year, about as fast as your fingernails grow
- Most volcanoes and earthquakes happen along plate boundaries
Quiz: How Earth’s Plates Move (Age 13)
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What happens at a mid-ocean ridge, where two plates pull apart?
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How fast do Earth’s plates move?
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Where do most volcanoes and earthquakes happen?
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