Definition of Plate Tectonics

Tectonic plates are those portions of the lithosphere that are located below the surface or the Earth crust of the planet. Are from material rigid and are located on the asthenosphere, a portion of the terrestrial mantle much deeper and more complex. The tectonic plates are embedded against each other and although they are rigid, they are only supported by the union of each other, so their movement it is permanent and very evident or clear in some regions of the planet.

In most cases, the movement o displacement plate tectonics is millimetric and is not felt in the daily life of societies. When these movements become evident for the human being we must speak of phenomena such as earthquakes, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. Many times their movement can also put volcanoes into action.

There are two types of tectonic plates on our planet: oceanic and mixed. While the former (which are the most extensive due to the large number of Water that exists on the surface of the Earth) are those that underlie the oceans, the mixed ones can combine both oceans and continental surfaces on their surface. The latter are the most numerous since we find many rather small, but in sum of extension the former occupy most of the

territory planetary.

For greater efficiency in their study, specialists have given different names to each of the plates approximately at the end of the 20th century. Thus, we can speak of the Antarctic Plate (the largest of all and the one that underlies the south of the planet), the Pacific Plate, the Pacific Plate North American Plate, African Plate, Australian Plate, South American Plate, Eurasian Plate and other minor ones that unite the larger ones each.

The permanent movement and displacement of some of these plates can be observed in the relief of the earth's crust. Thus, places with mountain ranges or higher territories are those that have suffered long ago. million years the collision or overlap of two plates that ended with the appearance of elevations earthly. This is why regions like the coast west of continent America or the area of ​​Southeast Asia often face numerous earthquakes, tsunamis and earthquakes caused by the permanent action of the plates that underlie their surface.

Illustrated. Adobe Caribia for ABC

Topics in Plate Tectonics