How Changes in the Earth’s Surface make Earthquakes and Mountains

Earthquakes

The Earth’s surface is made of rock.

The rock is in very big pieces.

The pieces are called tectonic plates.

Magma is hot rock.

Magma is under the Earth’s surface.

Magma pushes up and bumps into tectonic plates.

Tectonic plates are big pieces of rock.

Magma can make tectonic plates move.

When tectonic plates push quickly against each other This is called an earthquake.

Where the plates meet is called the fault.

The fault pushes against each other.

This is an earthquake.

Over millions of years tectonic plates can make mountains.

The plates push into each other.

They start to push upwards.

This makes a mountain.

This happens so slowly we cannot see it.

It takes millions of years for tectonic plates to push into becoming a mountain!