Plate Tectonics

Plate tectonics is relatively new, put forth in the last 30 years or so — its forerunner was the now-discarded continental drift theory. The theory states that Earth's outer shell is made up of huge slabs of rock called plates that glide over the planet's inner layer, or mantle. As these plates shift, they sometimes collide with other plates, making for some interesting, and even deadly, results on Earth's surface, from erupting volcanoes, to earthquakes, to new mountain ranges. Here's a look at Live Science's news and features related to this constantly moving jigsaw puzzle.

Related Topics: Archaeology, Biodiversity, Earthquakes, Volcanoes

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Mangaia rock sample

Extreme Green: Earth Recycles 2.5-Billion-Year-Old Ocean Crust

By Becky Oskin published

Remnants of Earth's early history have been discovered in a young Cook Islands volcano.

Grand Canyon panorama from Hopi Point

64-Million-Year Controversy: Grand Canyon Age Debated

By Becky Oskin published

Is the Grand Canyon 70 million years old? Or 6 million?

breakups, north america cordillera, farallon plate

In Images: How North America Grew As a Continent

By Becky Oskin published

Redrawing North America's geologic history since the age of the dinosaurs.

Mantle slabs under North America

Geologic History of North America Gets Overturned

By Becky Oskin published

Redrawing North America's geologic history since the age of the dinosaurs.

East Pacific Rise

Rare View Reveals How Earth's Crust Forms

By Becky Oskin published

One of the best images of a mid-ocean ridge sheds light on plate tectonics.

Baja California 7.2 Earthquake fault rupture

Foreshocks Announce Future Earthquakes on Some Faults

By Becky Oskin published

Smaller earthquakes called foreshocks herald big events, but aren't quake triggers.

Cross-section of lithosphere asthenosphere boundary

New Look at Earth's Mysterious Layer

By Becky Oskin published

Molten magma underlies Earth's tectonic plates.

earth-core

Physicists Hunt Weird Antimatter Beneath Earth

By Tia Ghose published

Physicists have tentatively detected several particles that could reveal how radioactive heat inside the earth could influence earthquakes

Infographic: How stresses beneath the surface moved plates of the Earth's crust.

How Japan's 2011 Earthquake Happened (Infographic)

By Karl Tate published

Huge stresses beneath the surface moved plates of the Earth's crust hundreds of feet horizontally and dozens of feet vertically.

microcontinenst, micro-continents, plate tectonics, tectonic plates, continental breakups, ancient continents

Ancient 'Micro-Continent' Found Under Indian Ocean

By Charles Q. Choi published

Mantle plume likely tore pieces of ancient continent off.

Kuril Trench subduction

Air Guns Give Glimpse Inside a Subduction Zone

By Crystal Gammon published

Seismic waves show what happens when one tectonic plate dives beneath another.

plate tectonics, mountain uplift, how mountains form, earth

Appalachians Get a Face-Lift From Earth's Mantle

By Crystal Gammon published

Southern reaches not as old, worn-down as thought.

Map of the thickness of Antarctica's crust

How Thick Is the Crust Beneath Antarctica?

By Crystal Gammon published

Seismic data gives new estimates for curst of least-known continent.

A schematic cross section of the Earth's interior below oceanic ridges shows the conditions of magma generation.

Crushing Rocks Reveals Magma Mantle Mysteries

By Becky Oskin published

Geologists destroy gems to discover how magma melts 150 miles below Earth's surface.

The Solar System’s Grandest Canyon

The Solar System’s Grandest Canyon

By Space.com Staff published

Valles Marineris, seen at an angle of 45 degrees to the surface in near-true colour and with four times vertical exaggeration.

World map shows 105 years of earthquakes.

Hotspots for Huge Earthquakes Revealed

By Douglas Main published

Examples of such quakes include Japan's deadly 9.0 in 2011.

Grand Canyon panorama from Hopi Point

New Clues Emerge in Puzzle of Grand Canyon's Age

By Becky Oskin published

Could the modern wonder be 70 million years old, as a new study suggests?

A schematic showing a mantle plume and a volcano hotspot

Shell Game: Earth's Wandering Outer Layers Mystify

By Charles Q. Choi published

Computer models and rock records used to track "true polar wander."

earthquakes, San Andreas Fault, California, plate tectonics

Will California Ever Fall into the Ocean?

By Ben Mauk published

If plate tectonics followed the laws of Hollywood physics, Los Angeles would be tearing violently from the mainland as we speak.

The image shows how the Caribbean plate is pushed to the east relative to the South American plate, causing the Caribbean Islands' distinctive arc shape.

Tectonic Shoving Match Formed Caribbean Island Arc

By Live Science Staff published

The study could help predict earthquakes in the area in the future.