What would the Earth be like if the crustal plates didn’t shift around and bump against each other? There is evidence that the Earth, like Mars, has been slammed by a massive object that passed through the core of the planet. Only the Earth is larger than Mars, and the object was smaller. The result is Iceland, the Atlantic ocean, continental drift and a renewing of the crust of the Earth over time.
Could life as we know it have come to exist on Earth without Tectonics? There is debate on the subject among some geologists. The mountains and the shape of the continents are all created by these tectonic plates bouncing against each other violently and with force. Volcanoes and Earthquakes would not exist. The rocks on the surface of the Earth would all be the same age, as old as the planet itself. Hawaii and the Emperor Seamounts would not exist, nor would the deep ocean trenches or the mountain ranges. Earth would be a relatively flat and uniform place with shallow seas and rolling plains.
This impact nearly split the planet! That it did not is fortunate for us. Look at the hapless Mars and you will wee what could have become of Earth. It’s something to ponder when we consider the “Goldilocks” world we live on. That is, the one world in our known universe where all conditions are “just right” for us to live. It should also make us willing to keep everything on this world “just right” for life as we know it.
This goes into the Big Bang theory and the Ultimate Design. That people are not willing to do what is necessary to keep the world "just right" for us also tells us something. The planet Earth is not static, it continues to change and evolve. I think people are forcing a more rapid change than the Earth would do on its own, but it would change regardless.
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