Continents move due to plate tectonics. Some are moving apart, such as at mid-ocean ridges, while others are colliding or sliding past each other, like along the San Andreas Fault. Overall, the continents are slowly drifting on the Earth's surface.
The African Plate is a tectonic plate which includes the continent of Africa, as well as oceanic crust which lies between the continent and various surrounding ocean ridges.Contents[hide] 1 Boundaries2 Components3 Modern movements4 References5 External linksBoundariesThe westerly side is a divergent boundary with the North American Plate to the north and the South American Plate to the south forming the central and southern part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The African plate is bounded on the northeast by the Arabian Plate, the southeast by the Indo-Australian Plate, the north by the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate, and on the south by the Antarctic Plate. All of these are divergent or spreading boundaries with the exception of the northern boundary with the Eurasian Plate (except for a short segment near the Azores, the Terceira Rift). ComponentsThe African Plate includes several cratons, stable blocks of old crust with deep roots in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, and less stable terranes, which came together to form the African continent during the assembly of the supercontinent Pangea around 550 million years ago. The cratons are, from south to north, the Kalahari craton, Congo craton, Tanzania craton and West African craton. The cratons were widely separated in the past, but came together during the Pan-African orogeny and stayed together when Gondwana split up. The cratons are connected by orogenic belts, regions of highly deformed rock where the tectonic plates have engaged. The Saharan Metacraton has been tentatively identified as the remains of a craton that has become detached from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, but alternatively may consist of a collection of unrelated crustal fragments swept together during the Pan-African orogeny. In some areas, the cratons are covered by sedimentary basins, such as the Tindouf basin, Taoudeni basin and Congo basin, where the underlying archaic crust is overlaid by more recent Neoproterozoic sediments. The plate includes shear zones such as the Central African Shear Zone (CASZ) where, in the past, two sections of the crust were moving in opposite directions, and rifts such as the Anza trough where the crust was pulled apart, and the resulting depression filled with more modern sediment.Modern movementsMap of East Africa showing some of the historically active volcanoes(red triangles) and the Afar Triangle (shaded, center) -- a triple junction where three plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian Plate and the Somali Plate) splitting along the East African Rift Zone (USGS). The African Plate is rifting in the eastern interior along the East African Rift. This rift zone separates the Nubian Plate to the west from the Somali Plate to the east. One hypothesis proposes the existence of a mantle plume beneath the Afar region, while an opposing hypothesis asserts that the rifting is merely a zone of maximum weakness where the African Plate is deforming as plates to its east are moving rapidly northward.The African Plate's speed is estimated at around 2.15 cm (0.85 in) per year. It has been moving over the past 100 million years or so in a general northeast direction. This is drawing it closer to the Eurasian Plate, causing subduction where oceanic crust is converging with continental crust (e.g. portions of the central and eastern Mediterranean). In the western Mediterranean, the relative motions of the Eurasian and African plates produce a combination of lateral and compressive forces, concentrated in a zone known as the Azores-Gibraltar Fault Zone. Along its northeast margin, the African Plate is bounded by the Red Sea Rift where the Arabian Plate is moving away from the African Plate.The New England hotspot in the Atlantic Ocean has probably created a short line of mid to late-Tertiary age seamounts on the African Plate but appears to be currently inactive.[1]References^ Age Progressive Volcanism in the New England Seamounts and the opening of the Central Atlantic Ocean Retrieved on 2007-10-05
The cold air from the South Pole would appear to be moving from south to north as the Earth's rotation causes winds to deflect towards the east at the equator in a phenomenon known as the Coriolis effect. This means that winds blowing towards the equator from the south will be deflected to the west, giving the impression of coming from the south but actually moving northward.
The continent that is moving significantly more slowly than the others is Antarctica. It has been described as the slowest moving continent due to its unique position and the way it is situated on the Earth's surface.
The three types of plate movements (convergent, divergent, transform) all involve interaction between tectonic plates. Convergent boundaries involve plates colliding, divergent boundaries involve plates moving apart, and transform boundaries involve plates sliding past each other. These movements can result in the formation of new landforms, earthquakes, and volcanic activity.
The Nazca Plate is moving eastward, diving beneath the South American Plate in a process known as subduction. This movement is causing the Andes Mountains to rise as a result of the collision between the two plates.
they are moving south and west at the same time
So the direction and speed of plate motion is measured with the assumption that the Africa plate is stationary. Using this standard North and South America is moving west away from Africa.
I don't know, which way is the Indo-Australia plate moving?
Baja California is on the Pacific Plate and across the Gulf of California, the rest of Mexico is on the North American plate. Both plates are sliding, in a way that the Pacific Plate is moving to the northwest while the North American Plate is moving southeast. This is called a transform boundary between both plates.
The tectonic plates in Yellowstone National Park are moving in a complex manner due to the presence of the Yellowstone hotspot. The North American Plate is moving southwest and the Pacific Plate is moving northwest, causing the region to experience geological activity such as earthquakes and geothermal features.
The tectonic Caribbean plate moves to the east at a rate of about 20 millimeters per year. This movement is driven by the forces of plate tectonics, specifically the subduction of the North American plate beneath the Caribbean plate along the Middle America Trench.
north west
The plate boundary along the coast of California is a transform boundary where the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate slide past each other horizontally, causing earthquakes. In contrast, the plate boundary along the west coast of South America is a convergent boundary where the Nazca Plate subducts beneath the South American Plate, leading to volcanic activity and mountain building.
Added a nice link below.
You can tell which way a front is moving by observing the direction in which the clouds are moving. In the Northern Hemisphere, if clouds are moving from south to north, it indicates a warm front moving north. If clouds are moving from north to south, it indicates a cold front moving south. Reverse these directions for the Southern Hemisphere.
Australia is moving north at a rate of about 2.7 inches (7 centimeters) each year, due to the tectonic plate it sits on, the Australian Plate, moving in a northerly direction. This movement is part of the larger process of continental drift driven by the motion of Earth's tectonic plates.