Plate tectonics came to be accepted by geoscientists after seafloor spreading was validated in the mid- to late 1960s. The processes that result in plates and shape Earth's crust are called tectonics.

Dec 23, 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 (60 miles) …

May 21, 2025 · Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that explains how major landforms are created as a result of Earth’s subterranean movements. The theory, which solidified in the 1960s, transformed the …

May 3, 2018 · The theory of plate tectonics is the unifying framework of modern geology. It explains how the Earth’s rigid outer shell — the lithosphere — is divided into large slabs called tectonic plates, …

Sep 22, 2020 · Plate Tectonics—The Unifying Theory of Geology 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 …

What is Plate Tectonics? 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 …

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to: Describe how the ideas behind plate tectonics started with Alfred Wegener’s hypothesis of continental drift. Describe the physical and chemical …

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

Plate tectonics is the scientific understanding of how large, contiguous blocks of the Earth’s outermost layers—the crust and the uppermost mantle—move and interact with one another.

Extensional tectonics is associated with the stretching and thinning of the crust or the lithosphere. This type of tectonics is found at divergent plate boundaries, in continental rifts, during and after a period …

Feb 11, 2020 · Plate tectonics thus provides “the big picture” of geology; it explains how mountain ranges, earthquakes, volcanoes, shorelines, and other features tend to form where the moving plates …

Plate tectonics (from Greek τέκτων, tektōn "builder" or "mason") describes the large scale motions of Earth 's lithosphere. The theory encompasses the older concepts of continental drift, developed …

Plate tectonics describes seismic activity, volcanism, mountain building, and various other Earth processes in terms of the structure and mechanical behaviour of a small number of enormous rigid …

Plate tectonics is the most important concept in modern geology. This section will introduce you to the concept of plate tectonics, its various processes and mechanisms, and how it shapes our world.

The theory of plate tectonics states that the surface layer of the Earth is broken into a network of solid, relatively brittle plates. Underneath the plates is a much hotter and more ductile layer that contains …

plate 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 …

Our current understanding of plate tectonic processes explains the existence and location of oceans, continents, large mountain ranges, volcanoes, earthquakes, and other large structures such as folds …

May 30, 2025 · The theory of plate tectonics states that Earth’s solid outer crust, the lithosphere, is separated into plates that move over the asthenosphere, the molten upper portion of the mantle.

Dec 11, 2025 · Plate tectonics - Continental Drift, Subduction, Earthquakes: The extent to which plate tectonics has influenced Earth’s evolution through geologic time depends on when the process …

The theory of plate tectonics revolutionized the earth sciences by explaining how the movement of geologic plates causes mountain building, volcanoes, and earthquakes.

Dec 15, 2025 · Viewed as a whole, the study of these large-scale features encompasses the geology of plate tectonics and of mountain building at the margins of or within continents.

Feb 11, 2020 · Earth’s outer shell is broken into tectonic plates that move relative to one another. The plates rip apart at divergent plate boundaries, crash together at convergent plate boundaries, and …