Did you know that Australia holds the title for the fastest-moving continent on our planet? That’s right! This remarkable landmass is perched atop a tectonic plate that is drifting northward at approximately 7 centimeters (just under 3 inches) annually. To give you some perspective, that’s about the same speed at which your hair and nails grow.
In contrast, the other continents on Earth shift at an average rate of around 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) each year, as reported by NOAA. So, Australia is definitely in the lead as it continues its journey north.
To get a bit more technical, we’re referring to the Indo-Australian plate, which encompasses mainland Australia, Tasmania, parts of New Guinea, New Zealand, and the Indian Ocean basin. And here’s an intriguing thought – millions of years down the line, the Indo-Australian plate may collide with the Eurasian plate in Southeast Asia and China, potentially giving rise to a new landmass configuration dubbed “Austrasia.”
This movement isn’t a recent phenomenon. Up until about 200 million years ago, Australia was actually part of Gondwana, a vast supercontinent that occupied the Southern Hemisphere. Back then, all the plates were tightly compacted together, reminiscent of a colossal jigsaw puzzle that is in a constant state of rearrangement.
The continents of Earth are perpetually undergoing gradual changes. Although we may not perceive these shifts in our everyday lives, the surface of our planet is always in motion. Tectonic plates are continuously on the move – some are colliding, while others are drifting apart, resembling a cracked road on a slow-moving conveyor belt.
This constant movement can actually pose challenges for our technology. Geolocation systems, such as GPS, rely on fixed coordinate frameworks. However, as the landmasses slowly drift, it can lead to discrepancies between what maps indicate and the actual locations on the ground.
In fact, Australia had to revise its coordinates in 2017 because it had shifted 1.6 meters (5.2 feet) out of alignment with the tectonic plate over a span of 23 years. So, in a sense, Australia officially moved 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) to the northeast.
So, the next time you glance at a map, keep in mind that our planet is always on the move – even if we can’t observe it happening in real time. It serves as a captivating reminder of the dynamic and ever-evolving nature of Earth.
