Plate Tectonics - Page 2 of 3

Spectacular sand dunes in the Sahara Desert, the largest non-polar desert in the world

c. 7 Million BCE: The Sahara Desert – Earth’s Largest Hot Desert

The Sahara, Earth's largest non-polar desert, is characterized by extreme temperatures and low rainfall, formed due to the shifting of continental plates and the closing of the Tethys Sea, resulting in a landscape predominantly shaped [...]

A NASA satellite view of the Hawaiian Island chain, showing the Big Island of Hawaii in the southeast extending to Kauai and tiny Ni’ihau in the northwest, with a chain of smaller islands and atolls above sea level continuing over 620 miles (1000 km) northwest

c. 28 Million BCE: The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands – A Hotspot Story

The Hawaiian Islands' formation is linked to a stationary hotspot beneath the moving Pacific plate, a theory first proposed by John Tuzo Wilson in 1963. The islands' age progression from the youngest in the southeast [...]

An aerial view of the Cascade volcanic peaks in Oregon, with the Three Sisters in the foreground, and Mts. Washington, Jefferson, Hood, and Adams extending northward

c. 30-10 Million BCE: The Cascade Volcanoes – A Tectonic Phenomenon

The Cascade Volcanoes in the Pacific Northwest are formed by the subduction of oceanic plates beneath the North American continental plate, resulting in a series of major volcanic peaks and vents along the Cascade volcanic [...]

An illustrative depiction showing the Earth's crust being split by plate tectonics in the East African Rift Zone, with the Horn of Africa and Somalia on the right, and the Nile River on the left, predicting the formation of a new ocean basin that will divide Africa into two plates in about 10 million years

c. 30 Million BCE: The East African Rift Zone – Earth’s Dynamic Crust

The East African Rift Zone, a result of continental rifting and mantle plume activity, is actively splitting the African continent, with predictions of forming two new plates and a new ocean basin in about 10 [...]

A summertime view of the geologically young and rugged Italian Alps, towering above stunning high mountain lakes

c. 65 Million BCE: The Formation of the Majestic Alps

The Alps were formed from the collision of the African and Eurasian plates following the breakup of Pangea, leading to the uplift of sedimentary deposits from the Tethys Sea and creating complex geological structures, including [...]

A scenic pastoral landscape in the Western Ghats Mountains of southern India, showcasing the layered volcanic hills of the Deccan Traps

c. 66 Million BCE: The Deccan Traps – A Volcanic Phenomenon

The Deccan Traps, an example of massive volcanic activity, dramatically altered Earth's landscape and climate, potentially contributing to the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous period, showcasing the interplay of gradual and catastrophic [...]

Albert Bierstadt's 1866 painting 'A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie' depicts the dramatic geological and meteorological features of the relatively young Rocky Mountains

c. 80 Million BCE: The Geological Formation of the Rocky Mountains

Explains the formation of the Rocky Mountains, a geological anomaly far from the North American plate's edge, initially formed by continental collisions 300 million years ago and later uplifted by the subducting Farallon plate around [...]

A seagull at sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean, formed around 140 million years ago from a rift in Pangea that separated the North American and African tectonic plates

c. 140 Million BCE: Formation of the Atlantic Ocean – A Tectonic Tale

Explores the formation of the Atlantic Ocean as a result of Pangea's breakup, driven by lithospheric plate dynamics and massive volcanic eruptions, leading to the creation of the mid-Atlantic ridge and the largest mountain chain [...]

An artistic global map depicting the supercontinent Pangea around 250 to 300 million years ago, showing the initial separation of what would become North America from the northern edge of future Africa.

c. 300 Million BCE: Pangea – The Ancient Supercontinent

Delves into the formation of Pangea, the ancient supercontinent, over 300 million years ago, through a series of continent-continent collisions, highlighting the concept of continental drift proposed by Alfred Wegener and supporting evidence from fossils [...]

Ancient peaks and canyons characterize the Atlas Mountains, stretching about 2,500 kilometers (1,600 miles) across Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia

c. 300 Million BCE: The Geological Evolution of the Atlas Mountains

Explores the formation of the Atlas Mountains, originating from the Alleghenian orogeny 300 million years ago due to Africa and North America's collision, and their later reformation through African and European plate interactions, leading to [...]