The reason is under our feet, literally. The earth’s crust is divided into tectonic plaques, huge rock blocks that float on the terrestrial mantle and move as if they were rafts on a thick lake. Argentina is part of the South American plaque, which moves slowly while interacting with other plates, such as Nazca in the Pacific. The latter sinks below the South American in a process known as subduction, generating earthquakes, mountain ranges and, yes, millimeter but constant displacements.
Does this have any consequence? Yes, although you are not going to end in Peru in a couple of centuries. This movement has concrete implications, for example, in the update of the maps and in satellite navigation (GPS). It is also key to understanding seismic activity, especially in regions such as whose or the Argentine northwest.
In fact, the Argentine geodesic reference system (postgar) is updated every certain years to contemplate this displacement, because what yesterday was “exact point”, today is … a little further.
Can. After all, this country is always moving: sometimes it advances, sometimes it goes back, sometimes turns in circles, but it is never still. Perhaps, knowing that even the earth under our feet is in constant transformation invites us to rethink our own roots, our destinations and our way of stopping in the world.
