GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -These plates are in constant motion. They can move at rates of up to four inches (10 centimeters) per year, but most move much slower than that. Different parts of a plate move at different speeds. The plates move in different directions, colliding, moving away from, and sliding past one another.

Detailed explanation-2: -Earth’s land masses move toward and away from each other at an average rate of about 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) a year. That’s about the rate that human toenails grow!

Detailed explanation-3: -The movement of the plates creates three types of tectonic boundaries: convergent, where plates move into one another; divergent, where plates move apart; and transform, where plates move sideways in relation to each other. They move at a rate of one to two inches (three to five centimeters) per year.

Detailed explanation-4: -The average rate of plate movement is approximately 5 cm/yr (about as fast as fingernails grow). This rate is perceptible but only over a long time.

Detailed explanation-5: -Plate Tectonics-A Scientific Revolution. The majority of the research shows that the plates move at the average rate of between approximately 0.60 cm/yr to 10 cm/yr.