Haley Segura

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There is scientific evidence that pieces of the Earths crust shift and move. This is shown
by volcanoes, earthquakes, fossil distribution, and sea-floor spreading. Those pieces of the
Earths crust are called tectonic plates, which are pieces of the earths crust sitting on top of
magma. They are located in the lithosphere of the earth, which includes the upper mantle and
crust of the earth, which is about 2,900 kilometers deep. The theory of these tectonic plates is
called plate tectonics, and explains why and how these plates affect the earth.
The first piece of evidence showing why we know we have tectonic plates is volcanoes
and earthquakes. Earthquakes and some volcanoes are direct effects of plate tectonics.
Earthquakes typically occur along where the plate boundaries meet, where stress tensions on the
plate begin to rise, causing an earthquake. These plate boundaries where they move are called
faults, and can move in three different directions. These directions include colliding with one
another (convergent), drifting away (divergent), or sliding against another plate (transform). If
there were no tectonic plates, there would be no earthquakes, because there would be no plates to
move. Though, we still have earthquakes, because scientists have discovered these faults and
plate boundaries, and created the theory of plate tectonics, which states that these plates do exist.
Along with that, volcanoes are also an example of the theory. Volcanoes can form in three
different ways, but two ways are usually only found around the plate boundaries themselves. One
is the process called subduction, when a converging plate slides under another, which usually
happens with the oceanic and continental plate. The oceanic plate is denser than the continental,
causing it to slide under and creating magma flow. Another way is when two diverging plates
break apart and open up the Earths crust, causing magma to come up and cool, slowly forming a
volcano. The last way is when volcanoes are found in the middle of plates, which are also
called hotspots. These are connected to many underground chambers, which lead to the mantle of
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the earth. Earthquakes and volcanoes are outcomes of the tectonic plates and are a large factor of
the plate tectonics theory.
The second piece of evidence is fossil distribution. We know that at one point in time, not
all the continents were located in the same place as they were today. By going back millions of
years, we have discovered that on many occasions, all the continents were together as
one supercontinent. We know this because of fossil distribution. Plants and animals used to
inhabit this huge land mass millions of years ago when it was one big continent. Eventually, the
plates shifted, and the masses of land broke off and went their separate ways. Then, fast forward
millions of years later, we find a certain fossil off the shore of South America that we thought
was only to be found in Africa. This leads us to believe that the land did indeed break apart, with
the help of the tectonic plates. If plate tectonics didnt happen, then all the fossils worldwide
would be clumped together by species. Fossil distribution is another way to support the theory of
plate tectonics.
The third piece of evidence is sea-floor spreading. Geochronology can tell us the age of
the rocks in the ocean, which shows us where these faults are located. Sea-floor spreading is
when new oceanic crust is created because of the tectonic plates, which are diverged and spilt,
making magma come up to the surface and cool. Over time these oceanic plates push the new
rocks further away. The older rock will get pushed away, closer and closer to the shoreline of
any continent. This means that the rocks around convergent boundaries are usually older rocks
than the rocks near plate boundaries around the world. If the plate tectonic theory were to be
false and newer rocks were closer to the continents that would suggest that the plates were
converging at the edge of the continent instead of the plate boundaries themselves. From that, we
would expect the rocks at the bottom of the ocean to be older. I say this because there would be
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no plates to divide and no magma exposed forming new rock. All of the supplied maps clearly
show where these plate boundaries are, and liquid mantle becomes exposed at sea bed floors
(Seafloor Age Map) where they are separating, and at the converging plates forming volcanoes.
Sea-floor spreading is another piece of evidence under the theory of plate tectonics.
In conclusion, evidence shows a strong and valid point of plate tectonics. These pieces of
evidence of plate tectonics are evidential proof that we have tectonic plates. Earthquakes,
volcanoes, fossil distribution, and seafloor-spreading, all have their own way of supporting the
theory of plate tectonics. If plate tectonics were not an accurate theory, all maps would look very
different than they do now. Plate tectonics is the reason why all these events are happening all
over the world, simultaneously.