The planet earth could be seemed fixed and rigid but if you look closer it should reveal that our earth is moving under our feet. The tectonic plates are always moving and if the plates scratch together if formes a earthquake or if one plate crashes into another plate it might form a volcano.

In the 1990’s there was a German scientist Alfred Wegener he thought that the coastlines of Africa and South America he said that they look like they would fit together. He also found some plants that where the same and some animals that where the same looking and everything. Also the mountains matched up.

In 1915 Alfred Wegener published his first book. It is about the contents and how they where once together.

Continents on the Move

200 million years ago 135 million years ago 65 million years ago 50-40 million years ago

Pangaea begins to break up and splits into two major landmasses — Laurasia in the north, made up of North America and Eurasia, and Gondwana in the south, made up of the other continents.

Gondwana splinters further — the South America-Africa landmass separates from the Antarctica-Australia landmass.

The Indian landmass breaks away from the Antarctica-Australia landmass.

Major rifting of Laurasia, with the North American landmass separating from Eurasia.

South America and Madagascar separate from Africa.

Greenland separates from North America.

Australia separates from Antarctica and moves north.

The Indian landmass collides with Asia.

Continents on the Move

Did you know that the earth’s constantly moving due to the motions of the tectonic plates. There is 15 tectonic plates in our world. Some of the plates are under the water. The crust is very thick about 20 to 40 miles (35 to 70 km). All the plates have a name. When the plates crash together they make a mountain. But when they just rub together they make a earthquake.

Our understanding of our earth is as a single, linked, dynamic, and evolving system continues to grow . About 4.6 billon years ago there was a cloud of interstellar space. There is a small pocket of gas and dust collapsed under it’s own gravity and our solar system was born.

Websites:• http://www.learner.org/interactives/dynamicearth/•http://www.iceaustralia.com/aesc2008/pdf/Theme_dynamic_earth.pdf•http://www.mnh.si.edu/earth/main_frames.html•http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/dynamic.html