Peter J. Haproff on How North America Got Its Shape Josh Hrala - Science Alert
go to original July 11, 2016

When Giants Collide: This Is How North America Got Its Shape (TED-Ed)

North America is one of the most geologically and environmentally diverse places on Earth, boasting just about every type of environment there is - from the tropical regions of southern Mexico to the frozen north of Canada, with forests, mountain ranges, and deserts in between. But how did all this get here?

The episode of Ted-Ed above explains all the crazy continental collisions and break ups that gave the North America we see today its shape.

In case you can’t remember your high school geology classes, tectonic plates are large landmasses that basically shift around on top of Earth’s mantle, creating a shell around the globe.

Since these plates continuously move, they often rub together and cause earthquakes. There are seven major tectonic plates covering the globe (one for each continent).

But they weren't always so separate.

Check out the video above to see it all in action for yourself, and don't forget that, even if we feel pretty stable for now, the Earth is still churning about under our feet - and will continue to do so long after we've left the planet.

Read the rest at Science Alert

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