African Plate and the East African Rift Zone
The African major plate contains all of Africa as well as the surrounding oceanic crust of the Atlantic Ocean. It moves at an average rate of 2.5 cm per year.
Geology
What Happened in the Archean Eon? [4.0 to 2.5 billion years ago]
Earth formed a stable climate in the Archean Eon. Because it cooled down from its molten state, Earth was able to support oceans, continents and oxygenation
Fossil Records: A Journey into the Past
When you unveil a fossil, it’s like rewinding into the past. Fossils are preserved remains from past living things such as bones, shells or exoskeletons.
Indo-Australian Plate: Tectonic Boundaries and Movement
The Indo-Australian Plate combines the Australian & Indian Plate. Widely considered two separate plates, it includes Australia, India and the Indian Ocean.
What is Isostatic Rebound?
During the last ice age, ice pushed down on continents with immense pressure. After the ice melted, land began slowly lifting which is isostatic rebound.
3 Mechanical Weathering Processes that Break Down Rocks
Mechanical weathering is the breakdown of rocks into sediments by physical means.This type of weathering does not alter the chemical composition of rocks.
5 Asthenosphere Facts: What is the Asthenosphere?
The asthenosphere is the unsung hero of our planet. This plasticky layer 80 to 200 km beneath Earth provides the necessary lubrication for plate tectonics.
South American Plate: Tectonic Boundary and Movement
The South American plate is the smallest of all major plates that includes the continent of South America and a large portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
What is a Cinder Cone Volcano (Scoria Cone)?
Cinder cones (also known as spatter cones) are the most common type of volcano in the world. But they are small in comparison to stratovolcanoes and others.
How Do Sedimentary Rocks Form?
Sedimentary rocks form from two key processes. First, compaction squeezes material together. Second, cementing glues the squeezed material together.
Proterozoic Eon: Eukaryotes to Multicellular Life (2500 to 541 million years ago)
In the Proterozoic Eon, key highlights are: ozone layer thickened, an oxygen crisis, Snowball Earth and eukaryotes and multicellular organisms evolved.
How the Rock Cycle Recycles Earth’s Crust
If you could speed up time, you would see rocks cycling from within the planet. Like a well-oiled machine, rocks are igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Chemical Weathering: Hydrolysis, Oxidation and Acidic Reactions
Chemical weathering is the process of transforming a rock’s composition through chemical reactions (by dissolving or converting them into other minerals)
Eurasian Plate: Tectonic Boundary and Movement
Sandwiched between the North American & African Plates, the Eurasian Plate consists of parts of Europe, Russia, Asia as well as the Atlantic & Arctic Ocean.
The Mesozoic Era: The Age of Reptiles, Dinosaurs and Conifers
The Mesozoic Era had a lot of “firsts”. For example, it had the first birds, first mammals, first dinosaurs and first flowering plants on Earth.