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Bookmark or Share- Plate tectonics - WikipediaPlate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since about 3.4 billion years ago.
- Theory of plate tectonics | Britannicaplate tectonics, Theory that the Earth’s lithosphere (the crust and upper portion of the mantle) is divided into about 12 large plates and several small ones that float on and travel independently over the asthenosphere.
- Plate tectonics | Definition, Theory, Facts, & Evidenceplate tectonics, theory dealing with the dynamics of Earth’s outer shell—the lithosphere—that revolutionized Earth sciences by providing a uniform context for understanding mountain-building processes, volcanoes, and earthquakes as well as the evolution of Earth’s surface and reconstructing its past continents and oceans.
- Earth's Shifting Tectonic Plates - National Geographic SocietyPlate tectonics is driven by a variety of forces: dynamic movement in the mantle, dense oceanic crust interacting with the ductile asthenosphere, even the rotation of the planet. Geologists studying the Earth use scientific observation and evidence to construct a picture of what the Earth looked like at different periods in the geologic past.
- What is a tectonic plate? [This Dynamic Earth, USGS]A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.
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