tectonic plate

This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth. Tectonic plates are pieces of the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around 100 km (62 mi) thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called sima from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from silicon and aluminium). The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly, with basaltic rocks ("mafic") dominating oceanic crust, while continental crust consists principally of lower density granitic rocks ("felsic"). See also Plate tectonics

For more information about tectonic plate check the Wikipedia article here

ZME Science posts about tectonic plate

Ancient tectonic plate re-discovered beneath California

Wed, Mar 20, 2013

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Millions of years ago, an ancient tectonic plate called the Farallon oceanic plate used to sit between the Pacific and North American plates. In time, the plate “disappeared” beneath the North American one, however geologists at Brown University have now found physical surface remnants of the plate under sections of central California and Mexico. The Farallon surface [...]

6.4 earthquake off the coast of Baja, California

Fri, Dec 14, 2012

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The United States Geological Survey (USGS) reported an undersea earthquake with a magnitude of 6.4 some 142 kilometers off the coast of Baja, California. The earthquake had its origin at approximately 10 km below surface level and so far, no tsunami warning has been issues.   Tectonic setting Sitting ontop of three of the large [...]

5.9 earthquake hits the US East Coast

Tue, Aug 23, 2011

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A small, yet frightening earthquake, registered at 5.9 magnitude, sent shivers down people’s spines all the way from Ottawa, Canada to North Carolina as it hit the North American east coast. The earthquake first caused ground shacking at 1:51 p.m. ET, when it measured 5.9 in magnitude and lasted only 45 seconds, according to the [...]

Hugely tall underwater volcanos discovered

Thu, Jul 14, 2011

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In the first ever-survey of its kind, geologists have managed to discover a chain of massive underwater volcanoes, some as tall as 2 miles, underneath the Antarctic waters near the South Sandwich Islands in the remote Atlantic Ocean. The South Sandwich Islands have always been known for their evident volcanic activity, ever since their discovery [...]

GeoPicture of the week: two tectonic plates

Mon, May 23, 2011

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This week’s picture shows the Eurasian and the American tectonic plates, as seen from underwater. In a way, you could say this is the edge of the Earth

Quartz may be key to plate tectonics

Thu, Mar 17, 2011

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Plate tectonics is one of the most important theories, from the point of view of its practical effects on society – just look at the earthquake in Japan, or the iminent one in California, for example. More than 40 years ago, a man named J. Tuzo Wilson published a paper in Nature, describing how ocean [...]

Japan Earthquake causes Earth axis to tilt – shortens day!

Mon, Mar 14, 2011

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As a consequence of last Friday’s devastating earthquake near the coast of Japan, the nation’s most powerful recorded earthquake to date actually since it began archiving results in the late 1800, scientists have assessed that the Earth axis has tilted by a few inches and that the chronological day has been shortened by a millionth [...]

Insects trapped in amber offer a precious glimpse on prehistoric bugs

Tue, Oct 26, 2010

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Amber is not very common, but you can’t say it’s really uncommon either. Bugs in amber – that’s rare, but a huge “stash” such as the one that was found in India – that’s really something out of this world. The bug “collection” that was unearthed seems to suggest that the Indian continent was not [...]

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