Plate Tectonics
Original lyrics penned 1993, © 2004 by Jim Nelson
Tune: "Oh Suzanna "
Plate Tectonics, oh what a fine theory
It explains the big volcanoes that are underneath the sea
There is a rift in thee Earth's crust, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Where magma rises from below then dives down deep again
Whenever this is happening the sea floor starts to spread
New lava flowing through the gap makes brand new ocean bed
Ocean Floor Spreading, explains so much to me
Why continents can drift apart to form a wider sea
The entire crust beneath our feet, is made of moving plates
That creep our from the middle and then bump into their mates
Where ocean plates do spread apart we call Divergent Zones
Where they crash into the continents we call Convergent Zones
Deep Sea Trenches, where subduction occurs
Make ocean plates dive way below the continental shores
Wherever there's subduction, the pressure start to grow
From massive heat and friction, someday its gonna blow
If this really happens, the earth begins to quake
And it might just cause a mountain to erupt a lava lake
Plate Tectonics makes so much sense to me
We think we know the forces, behind this fine theory
Somewhere deep beneath the crust the mantle does reside
Could it be convection currents there cause continents to glide?
Someday perhaps we'll know the rest and plainly we shall see
The benefits of research that we call seismology
Plate Tectonics, oh what a fine theory
It explains the big volcanoes that are underneath the sea