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.

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 ...

All of these processes result from plate tectonics, the movement of enormous chunks of Earth's crust. This movement may be why life exists here. Earth is the only known planet with plate tectonics ...

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 ...

The mid-ocean ridges mark the lines along which the Earth is turning itself inside out through the process of plate tectonics. Advances in technology are helping to reveal the intricate details of ...

Tectonics is the study of the structural geology ... the Lesser Antilles subduction zone act as a strong asperity on the plate interface and release fluids that drive hydrofracturing and ...

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.