Plate Tectonics

The Earth is made up of many layers. Th outermost layer is a thin, cool layer called the crust. This crust rests on the magma layer, which is constantly in motion due to convection currents. Since the crust is not solid, but rather made up of several pieces, called tectonic plates, the plates themselves are constantly moving. This movement of the plates is responsible for such phenomenon as mountain ranges, earthquakes and volcanoes!

Take a Thinkquest guided journey through plate tectonics with " Tour de Plates" or just surf the site.

See the Ring of Fire

All the continents in the world were once thought to be in a single landmass called Pangea (1,2). Scientists think that, in 250 million years, the land will once again come together to form Pangea Ultima.

EARTHQUAKES!

Check out the earthquakes for today at Ask4Kids. Also, some great links for more information. Cool site! :)

Plate motion links: easy (scroll down to 2.6), medium, and more info than you probably need to know. :)

P waves & S waves: animation 1, another site that's cool

How a seismograph works

Exploritorium Faultline site (currently experiencing some difficulty... beware)

browse this EdGate site for info. on CA quakes & earthquake-proof engineering

PLATE TECTONICS FUN & other links

Excellent kids site with LOTS of info (& games!), brought to you by the U.S. Geological Society (USGS)

Make a Quake and destroy your own vitual buildings

FEMA disasters for kids