Re: Pangaea

[Stan Friesen <swf@ElSegundoCA.NCR.COM>]

 From: Vicki Rosenzweig <@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu:murphy!acmcr!vr@uunet.uu.net>
 > I don't _think_ the number of plates is fixed
 > over geological time, either.

Oh goodness no.  Some purely oceanic plates can get totally
subducted.  For instance, there is a place in the South Pacifc
where a combination of a couple of island arcs and a gravitic
anomoly suggest the last remnants of such a plate exist right
now.  The Juan de Fuca plate may well be destined for this end.

And then, existing plates can split - the African plate may
be in the middle of doing so right now, along what is called
the Great Rift Valley (where all the good hominid fossils
are found).

swf@elsegundoca.ncr.com         sarima@netcom.com

The peace of God be with you.