Seven Major Tectonic Plate 

There are major, minor, and micro tectonic plates. There are seven major plates: largest to smallest. The Pacific plate is the largest which underlines the range of the Pacific Ocean. 

• The Pacific ring of fire has the most violent and catastrophic earthquakes and volcanoes. In the middle of the Pacific plate the islands that make up Hawaii are located there.The Pacific plate is responsible for the earthquake and volcanic eruption in Hawaii.

•  The second one is the North American plate, it also contains part of the Atlantic Ocean and it also includes Japan, Greenland,Cuba and the Bahamas.The North American plate contains a giant granitic carton: The stable interior portion of a continent characteristically composed of ancient crystalline rocks. 

• The next one would be the Eurasian plate. It consists of most of Europe, Russia and parts of Asia. The plate on average moves about a quarter to half an inch per year.

• The next one is the African Plate.It contains the whole continent of Africa as well as the surrounding oceanic crust of the Atlantic ocean. 

• The Antarctic plate holds the entire continent of Antarctica. About 100 million years ago, Antarctica broke apart to its current locations at the south pole. It was once grouped as an apostrophe of the supercontinent. It’s estimated that the antártica major plates move about 1cm per year. 

• The Indo -Australian plate is a major plate that combines the Australian and Indian plate, but they are considered to be two separate plates. They were once connected as the supercontinent Gondwana but Indira drifted apart moving northwards.

•  Last but not least is the South American plate. At the West side of the South American Plate they experience bad earthquakes due to the convergent plate tectonic boundaries. The south and African plates pull apart from each other and create some of the youngest oceanic crust on this planet.( “7 Major Tectonic Plates: The World's Largest Plate Tectonics.” Earth How, 12 June 2021,)

Another theory that was discussed several centuries ago was that map makers began noticing how many land masses looked like they could fit like a puzzle piece with other land masses. During the 20th century they created the full-bodied theory that we know today. The theory provides evidence that drives these observations to be true. Another type of evidence that strongly supported the theory was the fossils that were discovered. Fossils and other types of plants were discovered in shores of different continents, suggesting that these continents were once joined into one. One of the plants was Cycadacease, as of today they are scattered around Australia, South Africa and Malaysia. Cycads normally grow in regions distant from the coast. The seeds are so heavy that they would sink in the ocean. They were also heavy and dense enough to be hard for birds to carry a long way. Ever since they discovered the theory of plate tectonics they realized how cycads were so widespread. (Independent Digital News and Media, 3 Jan. 2019,) (Let's Talk Science, 22 Jan. 2020, ) ( Continental Drift & Plant Distribution, 21,Sept 2008 )

Continental Drift & Plant Distribution, https://www2.palomar.edu/users/warmstrong/cntdrift.htm. 

Let's Talk Science, and January 22. “Continental Drift and Plate Tectonics.” Let's Talk Science, 22 Jan. 2020, https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/backgrounders/continental-drift-and-plate-tectonics.

 “Plate Tectonics May Have Driven the Evolution of Life on Earth, Say Scientists.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 3 Jan. 2019, https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/earth-shell-cracked-global-warming-tectonic-plates-mantle-geology-science-a8690606.html. 

says:, Ron Conlin, et al. “7 Major Tectonic Plates: The World's Largest Plate Tectonics.” Earth How, 12 June 2021, https://earthhow.com/7-major-tectonic-plates/.