Why are continents moving and how will the world look in the next 100 years geographically.

Question

Why are large landmasses moving. What’s moving them and what’s the end goal.

In: Earth Science

Answer 1

a ) The world’s crust is split up in to tectonic plates: Massive sheets of crust floating on the semi-molten mantle moving under, above, and along each other. They’re moved by the currents of the mantle, fueled by the heat produced in the core of the earth.

b ) These plates move *painfully* slowly. In 100 years most plates will only have moved a few meters, about two humans laid end to end. There is next to no way you’d notice any sort of meaningful difference on any map.

c ) There is no end goal, any more than a leaf floating on top of a pool has any end goal. Tectonic plates aren’t sentient, they just happen to be floating on the mantle which pushes them to and fro.