Plate tectonics. Unraveling the mysteries of the Earth / Тектоника плит. Разгадывая тайны Земли

All aspects of the Earth’s history and structure, including its majestic mountains, giant rift valleys, and deep ocean basins, were fashioned by mobile crustal plates.The Earth’s outer shell is made up of a dozen or o plates composed of the upper mantle, or lithosphere, and the overlying continental and oceanic crust.The plates ride on the semimolten rocks of the upper mantle and carry the continents along with them.The movement of the plates accounts for all geologic activity taking place on the planet’s surface. In this manner, plate tectonics is continously changing and rearranging the face of the Earth.

The interaction of lithospheric plates plays a fundamental role in global tectonics and accounts for many geologic processes that shape the surface of the planet. The theory of plate tectonics clearly explains how these changes take place.When two plates collide, they create mountain ranges on the continent sand volcanic islands on the ocean floor. When an oceanic plate slides beneath a continental plate, it produces sinuous mountain chains.The breakup of a plate creates new continents and oceans.The rifting and patching of the continents have been ongoing processes practically since the very beginning.