
Plate tectonics | Definition, Theory, Facts, & Evidence - Britannica
Oct 31, 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) …
Plate tectonics - Wikipedia
The theory of plate tectonics was defined in a series of papers between 1965 and 1967. The theory revolutionized the Earth sciences, explaining a diverse range of geological phenomena and their …
Plate Tectonics - National Geographic Society
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 …
Plate Tectonics: Definition, Theory, Types, Facts, & Evidence
Feb 17, 2023 · According to the theory of plate tectonics, the Earth’s outer shell is divided into large slabs of solid rocks, called plates, that move over the rocky inner layer above the Earth’s core, the …
Plate Tectonics - pnsn.org
Plate Tectonics Theory 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 …
Plate Tectonics – Definition, Theory, Plate Boundaries, and Hotspots
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, …
Plate Tectonics—The Unifying Theory of Geology
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 Theory, Diagrams, Boundaries - GEOLOGY.COM
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 …
Plate Tectonics Theory: Types, Significance & Examples
Jul 7, 2025 · According to the theory of plate tectonics, large and small tectonic plates move over the lithosphere of the earth. Good plates float over the semi-fluid asthenosphere and move owing to …
What Is Plate Tectonics? - Live Science
Nov 8, 2024 · Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth’s outer shell is divided into several plates that glide over Earth's mantle.