So we know that under our feet is the mantle which is basically slow moving liquid rock but can we draw a connection between what I am about to tell you and the earthquake that happened in China not that long ago.
So we know that the Earth is on the move, you just need to look at the map and see that continents like America and Africa join together like a jigsaw. Well this is what the Scientists of today think is what has happened, you can do this in your house as well if you have a Bunsen burner.
Equipment
- Large Beaker - with water
- Heat proof mat
- Tripod
- Gauze
- Bunsen burner
- Coloured Dye
So you set it up with the mat obviously on the surface flat and then the tripod onto with the gauze resting on that and the beaker with water on top of that. The Bunsen burner should be burning on the side of the beaker. Bunsen burner needs to be set at the no oxygen (blue flame). You put the dye in where the Bunsen is heating the beaker. When the dye heats it will rise and then fall again and repeat the process. This is why:
Ok so the experiment shows us convection current. The water gets heated and it rises. As it cools, the water falls. In the Earth, the core is very hot. This heats up the rock above it and makes convection current. This is what makes earthquakes and volcanoes happen and it moves the continents about.
So back to my earlier point, can we draw a connection? Well yes we can and we can prove it with the experiment. But then why do the likes of China and California get so many of these earthquakes? Well I will explain that now:
Why Do Earthquakes and Volcanoes Only Occur in Certain Areas?
Earthquakes and Volcanoes happen usually on the plate boundaries of the Earth. (This is what the San Andreas Fault line is about) that is why places like the UK don't have many earthquakes and that is because they aren't on a major plate boundary. So we can also pinpoint another reason why the Continents are moving and that is because:
The lava, which underwater volcanoes have let out, has spread a long distance until it reaches another plate boundary. The lava goes under the plate and so this lava heats up and up until it eventually erupts out of a land volcano. Now they will move the continents as this is where the lava goes under the plate the continents go under each other, push into each other or rise up into the air. This is where earthquakes happen.
Conclusion
So from that I can conclude that the plate boundaries are mostly at fault as it is there that the earthquakes and volcanoes happening meaning the continents move and for example India is crashing into Asia.
