Week 2: Plate Tectonics
The Nazca and South American plate interactions
Argentina sits in the South American plate. The south American plate contains a large portion of the South Atlantic South on the east coast. South American plate is involved in Andes Mountains formation with Nazca plate, and Mid Atlantic Ridge formation with African plate.The Nazca Plate is moving eastwards towards the South American Plate. This interaction between both plates is largely responsible for constructing the Andes Mountains. The Andes mountain range is the longest mountain range in South America, running 7,000 kilometers along the western coast of the continent from the southern tip of Chile and Argentina, up through Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela to the northern tip of the continent in Venezuela.This specific zone causes lots of earthquakes. South American plate interacts with Nazca Plate on the west side of the continent generating some of the most powerful earthquakes in history, such as the Valdivia earthquake. Plate tectonics are never idle.
Very interesting research. I am curious what you'll find out next week when we discuss earthquakes!
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