What is Plate Tectonics?

Developed from the 1950s through the 1970s, plate tectonics is the
modern version of continental drift, a theory first proposed by
scientist Alfred Wegener in 1912.

Plate tectonics is the theory that Earth's

outer shell is divided into several plates
that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner
layer above the core. The plates act like a
hard and rigid shell compared to Earth's
mantle.
Earth’s litosphere consists of layers:
• Crust
• Upper part of the mantle

CRUST
- Made of a variety of solid rocks
- Has an average density of 2.8 g/cm3
- The thickness ranges from 5 to 50 km
- It is thickest in a part where a relatively young
mountain is present and thinnest along the ocean floor
 Continental crust
- Thicker but less dense which forms the large
land masses
- Lies on top of the plates
- Formed by convergent plate boundaries
 Oceanic crust
- Tectonic plate at the bottom of the oceans
- Formed by divergent plate boundaries
How many plates are there?
There are nine major plates, according
to World Atlas. These plates are named
after the landforms found on them. The
nine major plates are North American,
Pacific, Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian,
Australian, Indian, South American and
Antarctic.
The largest plate is the Pacific Plate at
39,768,522 square miles (103,000,000 square
kilometers). Most of it is located under the
ocean. It is moving northwest at a speed of
around 2.75 inches (7 cm) per year.
There are also many smaller plates
throughout the world.