At what rate do the continents move apart per year?
1 Answer
May 17, 2016
About the same rate at which your fingernails grow.
Explanation:
Plate tectonics is a slow process with rates of around 2.5 centimeters per year (cm/yr), or 25 km in a million years being fairly typical. However, some boundaries can move faster and others. like the west coast of North America, can become locked and not move at all for decades. When the plates finally do move, they usually result in severe earthquakes.
