Plate Tectonics
All About Plate Tectonics
Plate tectonics is the model or theory that we use to understand how our planet works. It is a model that explains the origins of continents and oceans, folded rocks and mountain ranges, igneous and metamorphic rocks, earthquakes and volcanoes, and continental drift. This theory is relatively new compared to others and took a while to become accepted due to political, and technical reasons.
During WWII, we developed sonar technology to find u-boats, and later on, realized we could determine the depth of the sea floor with it. Marie Tharp drew maps of the sonar readings she would receive and realized there were mountains, ridges, etc. under the sea. We used the development of sonar to connect everything together, from Earth's interior to volcano formations, continent separation, mountain formation, etc.
Pangea
This image is an illustration of what the supercontinent Pangea would have looked like due to fossils discovered in various lands. The theory was more widely considered and accepted after the 1970's as technology further developed and allowed us to gain more exploration and understanding.
