Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's outer layer is made up of plates, which have moved throughout Earth's history. The theory explains the how and why behind mountains, volcanoes ...

The tiny Juan de Fuca plate is largely responsible for the volcanoes that dot the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The plates make up Earth's outer shell, called the lithosphere.

According to plate tectonics theory, Earth's outer shell is divided into multiple plates that slowly glide over the mantle. This slowly changes Earth's surface over time by merging, or separating ...

This early rocky shell featured chemical signatures previously thought to occur only in continental crusts made by the ...

Sinking in one place leads to plates moving apart in other places. The movement of the plates and the activity inside the Earth, is called the theory of plate tectonics.

New research suggests that Earth's first crust, formed over 4.5 billion years ago, already carried the chemical traits we ...

The study also provides a new approach to solving one of the biggest enduring scientific mysteries: when did plate tectonics begin?

Plate tectonics is relatively new, put forth in the last 30 years or so — its forerunner was the now-discarded continental drift theory. The theory states that Earth's outer shell is made up of ...

The Earth is made of different layers: the core, mantle and crust. Plate tectonic theory shows that the crust of the Earth is split into plates (pieces of the Earth’s crust). The movement of ...