• How fast do plates move?
  Plates move, on average, between I and 10 cm (0.4 and 4 in) a year. ...

• Who first suggested the idea of continental drift?
  In the early 1800s, an American, F.B. Taylor, and a German, Alfred ...

• Have fossils helped to prove continental drift?
  Fossils of animals that could not possibly have swum across oceans ...

• How do volcanic islands form in the middle of oceans?
  Volcanic islands form when magma rises from the mantle. Lava (the ...

• Can plates move sideways?
  Plates not only move apart or push against each other, they can also ...

• What earthquake in modern times caused the most damage?
  In 1923, an earthquake struck Tokyo, capital of Japan. About 575,000 ...

• What was the Earth like after it formed?
  The Earth's surface was probably molten (hot and liquid) for many ...

• Can scientists predict earthquakes?
  In 1975, Chinese scientists correctly predicted an earthquake and ...

• When did living things first appear on Earth?
  The oldest known fossils (of microscopic bacteria) are around 3,500 ...

• Can animals sense when an earthquake is about to happen?
  Scientists have noticed that animals often behave strangely before an ...