Oceanic convection zones place steady, continuous pressure on continental tectonic plates. This pressure causes stochastics in the earth’s crust at subduction zones where plates collide. The constituency of the mantle at the point of collision determines the coefficient of friction between plates.

A high coefficient of friction between dense plates leads to volatile activity in the form of earthquakes, landslides, and volcanic activity. A lower coefficient of friction in the presence of layers of silt or soft, giving sedimentary rock causes more subtle activity like gentle shifts in terra or slow-forming sinkholes.

Intra-continental sinkholes and landslides result from uneven distribution of earth. These events can happen as a result of glacial recession or soft sedimentary materials surfacing as a result of evaporation, condensation, and other forms of elementary exposure and decay. Radio carbon dating tells us these processes have been happening for far longer than humans have been around to observe them.

Whether you chalk this up to God, mother nature, or geology and physics is your choice. Personally, I think the question, “Why anything at all, and much more, all the beauty of our earth and galaxy?” lends to the possibility of something bigger than us.