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plate tectonics
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Earth's tectonic plates
What is the theory of continental drift?
Earth's lithosphere and upper mantle crustal generation and destruction
Discern between body and surface waves, primary and secondary waves, and Love and Rayleigh waves
Earth's core
Examine how the theory of plate tectonics explains volcanic activity, earthquakes, and mountains
plate movement rift valley in Thingvellir National Park age of Earth's oceanic crust
For Students
plate tectonics summary
Quizzes
Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
Everything Earth
Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
The Solid Earth Quiz
Related Questions
Read Next
Paleogeography and paleoceanography of Early Triassic time. The present-day coastlines and tectonic boundaries of the configured continents are shown at the lower right. Continents, continental drift, plate tectonics, Pangea, Laurussia, Gondwana.
Spotting a Supercontinent: How Pangea Was Discovered
Diagram showing human heart
What’s the Difference Between Veins and Arteries?
Volcanic eruption of a volcano near Antigua, Guatemala
What Causes a Volcano to Erupt?
earthquake. Heavily damaged school in the town of Yingxiu after a major earthquake struck China's Sichuan Province on May 12, 2008.
The 6 Deadliest Earthquakes Since 1950
Small canyon underwater carved by the swell into the fore reef with sunlight through water surface, Huahine island, Pacific ocean, French Polynesia.
A Tale of Two Submerged Continents
Discover
Solar eclipse of the sun.
The Sun Was Eaten: 6 Ways Cultures Have Explained Eclipses
Mona Lisa, oil on wood panel by Leonardo da Vinci, c. 1503-06; in the Louvre, Paris, France. 77 x 53 cm.
Why Is the Mona Lisa So Famous?
Periodical Cicada, Adult, Magicicada spp. Requires 17 years to complete development. Nymph splits its skin, and transforms into an adult. Feeds on sap of tree roots. Northern Illinois Brood. This brood is the largest emergence of cicadas anywhere
Why Do Some Cicadas Appear Only Every 17 Years?
Albert Einstein in Washington, D.C. c. 1921-1923. Physicist
The Solar Eclipse That Made Albert Einstein a Science Celebrity
Vietnam War. U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson awards the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant Marty A. Hammer, during a visit to military personnel, Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam, October 26, 1966. President Johnson
Vietnam War Timeline
VAN, TURKEY - OCTOBER 25: A building and car ruined during the earthquake of Van-Ercis on October 25, 2011 in Van, Turkey. It is 604 killed and 4152 injured in Van-Ercis Earthquake.
What Is an Aftershock?
Queen Elizabeth II addresses at opening of Parliament. (Date unknown on photo, but may be 1958, the first time the opening of Parliament was filmed.)
All 119 References in “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” Explained

After marine magnetic anomalies were explained, the cumulative evidence caused the concept of seafloor spreading to be widely accepted. However, the process responsible for continental drift remained enigmatic. Two important concerns remained. The spreading seafloor was generally seen as a thin-skin process, most likely having its base at the Moho—that is, the boundary between the crust and mantle. If only oceanic crust was involved in seafloor spreading, as seemed to be the case in the Pacific Ocean, the thinness of the slab was not disturbing, even though the ever-increasing number of known fracture zones with their close spacing implied oddly ...(100 of 14904 words)

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