Move?
, How Fast Does a Plate Move?
• The fit of the coastlines of South and North America with Africa and
Europe and the occurrence of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge halfway
between suggests that seafloor spreading took place by the splitting
apart of a larger continental landmass (Gondwanaland).
• The date when the splitting began and the rate of spreading can be
estimated from:
➢ The age of the youngest rocks affected by the split and the distance
between them now on either side of the Atlantic.
➢ The age of the basalt lavas at known distances from the MOR.
➢ The age and thicknesses of the sediments at known distances from
the MOR.