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  2. List of tectonic plates - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tectonic_plates

    Plate tectonics map from NASA. This is a list of tectonic plates on Earth's surface. Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth's crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere.

  3. Plate tectonics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics

    Tectonic plates are composed of the oceanic lithosphere and the thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent plate boundaries, the process of subduction carries the edge of one plate down under the other plate and into the mantle. This process reduces the total surface area (crust) of the Earth.

  4. Earth's crust - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_crust

    Plates in the crust of Earth. Earth's crust is its thick outer shell of rock, referring to less than one percent of the planet's radius and volume.It is the top component of the lithosphere, a solidified division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. [1]

  5. Plate tectonics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tectonics

    In plate tectonics, the outermost part of the Earth known as the lithosphere (the crust and uppermost mantle) act as a single mechanical layer. The lithosphere is divided into separate "plates" that move relative to each other on the underlying, relatively weak asthenosphere in a process ultimately driven by the continuous loss of heat from the ...

  6. Earth's crustal evolution - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth's_crustal_evolution

    This demonstrates the crustal spatial evolution at the Earth's surface dictated by plate tectonics. Earth's crustal evolution involves the formation, destruction and renewal of the rocky outer shell at that planet's surface. The variation in composition within the Earth's crust is much greater than that of other terrestrial planets.

  7. Crust (geology) - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crust_(geology)

    Plates in the crust of Earth. Earth's crust is a thin shell on the outside of Earth, accounting for less than 1% of Earth's volume. It is the top component of the lithosphere, a division of Earth's layers that includes the crust and the upper part of the mantle. [9]

  8. Lithosphere - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithosphere

    The tectonic plates of the lithosphere on Earth Earth cutaway from center to surface, the lithosphere comprising the crust and lithospheric mantle (detail not to scale). A lithosphere (from Ancient Greek λίθος (líthos) 'rocky' and σφαίρα (sphaíra) 'sphere') is the rigid, [1] outermost rocky shell of a terrestrial planet or natural satellite.

  9. Outline of plate tectonics - Wikipedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outline_of_plate_tectonics

    Earth's lithosphere, the rigid outer shell of the planet including the crust and upper mantle, is fractured into seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates or "platelets". Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary (or fault): convergent, divergent, or transform ...