Plate tectonics
Videos
Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. The model builds on the concep
Plate motion based on Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data from NASA JPL Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine. Each red dot is a measuring point and vectors show direction and magnitude of motion.
Alfred Wegener in Greenland in the winter of 1912–13
Tectonics
Videos
Tectonics are the processes that result in the structure and properties of Earth's crust and its evolution through time. The field of planetary tectonics extends the concept to other planets and moons
Plate tectonics
…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. Earth's lithosphere, the rigid outer shell of the planet including the crust and upper mantle, is fractured into seven or eight major plates (depending…
San Andreas transform fault on the Carrizo Plain
The Tectonic Network of Earth. Legend: Brown: Terrane (microplate) boundaries in the continents and Mobile Belts, Cyan: Terranes of the Oceanic Plates, Blue: Oceanic transform faults; Red and orange: Fault zones in the Continental and Mountain belt domain; Purple: Main subduction zones and suture zones; Green: Continental margins