Most of the United States is on the North American tectonic plate, though some parts of California are on the Juan de Fuca plate or the Pacific plate.
Plate tectonics is the process by which many sections of the Earth's crust (called tectonic plates) shift around due to geothermal activity. Plate tectonics are responsible for many geological features like mountain ranges, volcanoes, and trenches. Earthquakes are also the result of tectonic plates shifting, so if you ever experience on, the Earth is literally moving beneath your feet!
Some people worry that the parts of California which are not on the North American plate will someday "break off" or drift away. While it is not likely we will experience such a dramatic geographical change in our lifetime, this tectonic process can be observed in real-life. The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of a transform fault, where the North American and Pacific plates are slowly moving away from each other. Even though tectonic plates are deep below the ground, we can see the result of this drift on the surface.
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