Sep 22, 2025 · The concept of plate tectonics was formulated in the 1960s. According to the theory, Earth has a rigid outer layer, known as the lithosphere, which is typically about 100 km …

Tectonic plates probably developed very early in the Earth's 4.6-billion-year history, and they have been drifting about on the surface ever since-like slow-moving bumper cars repeatedly …

The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct tectonic plates, which ride on the viscoelastic asthenosphere.

Feb 17, 2023 · Tectonic plates are large, irregular-shaped slabs of rock making up the Earth’s crust and upper mantle. They are found to float on top of a semi-liquid layer of rock called the …

May 21, 2025 · In plate tectonics, Earth’s outermost layer, or lithosphere —made up of the crust and upper mantle—is broken into large rocky plates. These plates lie on top of a partially …

Feb 10, 2024 · Tectonic plates are essentially rigid segments of the Earth’s lithosphere, a layer that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. They range in size from a few hundred …

Learn about how plates move and their impact on the Earth's surface.

Plate tectonics is a theory about how Earth's lithosphere is divided into a series of rigid plates; and, how movements of these plates produce earthquakes, volcanoes, ocean trenches, …

Sep 22, 2020 · We live on a layer of Earth known as the lithosphere which is a collection of rigid slabs that are shifting and sliding into each other. These slabs are called tectonic plates and fit …

Nov 8, 2024 · Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over Earth's mantle.