Process

Plate Tectonics

Geology

The scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3 to 4 billion years ago. It is the unifying framework of modern geology, explaining earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain ranges and the shape of the continents as one connected system, and it grew directly out of Alfred Wegener's rejected theory of continental drift once seafloor spreading gave it a mechanism. This description is adapted from Wikipedia contributors under CC BY-SA 4.0; changes were made. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Facts

Timescale

Millions of years; plates have been moving since roughly 3 to 4 billion years ago 1

Driving Force

Dissipation of heat from the mantle, driving convection, with slab pull at subduction zones the strongest single driver of plate motion. 1

Resulting Feature

Mid-ocean ridges, deep ocean trenches, mountain ranges, volcanic arcs and the great majority of the world's earthquakes, concentrated along plate boundaries. 1

Significance

Plate tectonics is the unifying framework of modern geology, explaining the distribution of earthquakes, volcanoes, mountain ranges and the ocean basins within a single theory. 1

Driving Force

Driving Force (category)

Tectonic 1

Timescale

Timescale (category)

Years to Decades 1

Plate Tectonics

43 entries

Discipline

Where

FAQs

What causes plate tectonics?

Mantle heat drives convection, and slab pull at subduction zones is the strongest single force moving the plates.

Plate tectonics is driven mainly by heat escaping from Earth's mantle, which powers slow convection within it. Of the forces that move the plates, slab pull, the sinking of dense, cold oceanic lithosphere at a subduction zone, is the single strongest driver of plate motion.

Connections

Held Differently

Continental Drift

Not rejected: continental drift's core observation was validated and absorbed whole into plate tectonics once seafloor spreading supplied the missing mechanism. Variant, a different and superseded account of the same underlying reality, not a debunked claim.

Source Continental Drift (Wikipedia)

Anticipated By

Seafloor Spreading

Confirmation of seafloor spreading in the 1960s is what turned continental drift into accepted plate tectonics.

Source Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)

Rejected Here

Geosyncline Theory

Geosyncline theory's sediment-loading mechanism for mountain building was superseded by plate tectonics; unlike Continental Drift's absorption into Plate Tectonics (recorded in a variant stance elsewhere in this atlas), the geosynclinal model and its terminology were substantially set aside rather than folded in whole, and by 1982 were argued to carry more discredited baggage than explanatory value.

Source Geosyncline (Wikipedia)

Associated With

John Tuzo Wilson

Transform faults and the hotspot explanation of Hawaii are two of plate tectonics' keystone arguments.

Source John Tuzo Wilson (Wikipedia)

Tectonophysics

Tectonophysics supplies the physical mechanics behind plate tectonic processes such as continental drift and mantle convection.

Source Tectonophysics (Wikipedia)

The Wilson Cycle

A key development in the theory of plate tectonics during the Plate Tectonics Revolution.

Source Wilson Cycle (Wikipedia)

Caused By

Mantle Convection

The slow creep of the solid mantle is the widely credited underlying engine that drags the plates above it, supplying the driving mechanism Wegener's original continental drift lacked.

Source Mantle Convection (Wikipedia)

Causes

1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Rupture along the San Andreas Fault, the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates.

Source 1906 San Francisco Earthquake (Wikipedia)

1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake

Source 1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake (Wikipedia)

Abyssal hill

Source Abyssal hill (Wikipedia)

Abyssal plain

Source Abyssal plain (Wikipedia)

Aeolian Islands

Source Aeolian Islands (Wikipedia)

Aldan Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Aldan Shield

Amazonian Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Amazonian Craton

Anabar Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Anabar Shield

Arabian Plate

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Arabian Plate

Baltic Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Baltic Shield

Bangweulu Block

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Bangweulu Block

Calchaquí Valley

Source Calchaquí Valley (Wikipedia)

Canadian Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Canadian Shield

Central Valley (California)

Source Central Valley (California) (Wikipedia)

Churchill Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Churchill Craton

Congo Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Congo Craton

Dharwar Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Dharwar Craton

Earthquake

Most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries where tectonic stress is released as fault rupture.

East Antarctic Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: East Antarctic Shield

Faulting

Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic forces.

Source Fault, Geology (Wikipedia)

Gawler Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Gawler Craton

Guiana Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Guiana Shield

Hearne Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Hearne Craton

Iapetus Suture

Source Iapetus Suture (Wikipedia)

Indus-Yarlung Suture Zone

Source Indus-Yarlung suture zone (Wikipedia)

Island

Source Wikipedia: Island

Izu Peninsula

Source Izu Peninsula (Wikipedia)

Kaapvaal Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Kaapvaal Craton

Kalahari Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Kalahari Craton

Land bridge

Source Land bridge (Wikipedia)

Laurentia

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Laurentia

Lesser Antilles

Source Lesser Antilles (Wikipedia)

Mid-ocean ridge

Source Mid-ocean ridge (Wikipedia)

North Atlantic Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: North Atlantic Craton

Oceanic trench

Source Wikipedia: Oceanic trench

Orogeny

Mountain belts rise where converging plates collide or subduct.

Source Orogeny (Wikipedia)

Pilbara Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Pilbara Craton

Rae Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Rae Craton

Raised Beach

Source Raised beach (Wikipedia)

Raised coral atoll

Source Raised coral atoll (Wikipedia)

Red Sea Rift

Wikidata P31 (Q104698) mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via earth5 extended reviewed judgment map; source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Red Sea Rift

Sarmatian Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Sarmatian Craton

Siberian Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Siberian Craton

Slave Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Slave Craton

Spiti

Source Spiti (Wikipedia)

Supercontinent

Source Supercontinent (Wikipedia)

Superior Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Superior Craton

Tanzania Craton

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Tanzania Craton

Tepui

Source Wikipedia: Tepui

Ukrainian Shield

Wikidata P31 formation-type mapped to formative process Plate Tectonics via reviewed judgment map (earth atlas); source citation is this entity's own cited Wikidata item.

Source Wikidata: Ukrainian Shield

Showing 1 to 50 of 58 in Causes, page 1 of 2.

In Discipline

Geology

Source Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)

Open Questions

When and how did plate tectonics itself begin on early Earth?

Source Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)

Sources

1. Plate Tectonics (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia Foundation

Driving forces
Dissipation of heat from the mantle is the original source of the energy required to drive plate tectonics through convection or large scale upwelling and doming.
Introduction, opening sentence
is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3-4 billion years ago.

View the Source

Geosyncline (Wikipedia)

Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Geosyncline Theory, Later history sectionView the Source

Land bridge (Wikipedia)

Causes: Land bridge, Article text

Quote, Causes: Land bridge, Article text

A land bridge can be created by marine regression, in which sea levels fall, exposing shallow, previously submerged sections of continental shelf; or when new land is created by plate tectonics; or occasionally when the sea floor rises due to post-glacial rebound after an ice age.

View the Source

Raised beach (Wikipedia)

Causes: Raised Beach, Article text

Quote, Causes: Raised Beach, Article text

Around the world, a combination of tectonic coastal uplift and Quaternary sea-level fluctuations has resulted in the formation of marine terrace sequences

View the Source

Iapetus Suture (Wikipedia)

Causes: Iapetus Suture, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Quote, Causes: Iapetus Suture, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

The Iapetus Suture is one of several major geological faults caused by the collision of several ancient land masses forming a suture.

View the Source

Supercontinent (Wikipedia)

Causes: Supercontinent, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Quote, Causes: Supercontinent, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Moving under the forces of plate tectonics, supercontinents have assembled and dispersed multiple times in the geologic past.

View the Source

Mid-ocean ridge (Wikipedia)

Causes: Mid-ocean ridge, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Quote, Causes: Mid-ocean ridge, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics.

View the Source

Wikipedia: Oceanic trench

WikipediaCauses: Oceanic trench, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Quote, Causes: Oceanic trench, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Oceanic trenches are a feature of the Earth's distinctive plate tectonics.

View the Source

Abyssal plain (Wikipedia)

Causes: Abyssal plain, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

Quote, Causes: Abyssal plain, Lead section (caused-by Plate Tectonics)

The creation of the abyssal plain is the result of the spreading of the seafloor (plate tectonics) and the melting of the lower oceanic crust.

View the Source

Indus-Yarlung suture zone (Wikipedia)

Causes: Indus-Yarlung Suture Zone, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Indus-Yarlung Suture Zone, Lead sentence

The Indus-Yarlung suture zone or the Indus-Yarlung Tsangpo suture is a tectonic suture in southern Tibet and across the north margin of the Himalayas which resulted from the collision between the Indian plate and the Eurasian plate starting about 52 Ma.

View the Source

Undersea mountain range (Wikipedia)

Causes: Undersea mountain range, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Undersea mountain range, Lead sentence

If they originated from current tectonic forces, they are often referred to as mid-ocean ridges.

View the Source

Wikipedia: Island

WikipediaCauses: Island, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Island, Lead sentence

There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent.

View the Source

Yehliu (Wikipedia)

Causes: Yehliu, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Yehliu, Lead sentence

It was formed six million years ago, after the collision of the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasian plate; tectonics then pushed the Datun Mountains out of the sea.

View the Source

1950 Assam-Tibet earthquake (Wikipedia)

Causes: 1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: 1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake, Lead sentence

The earthquake is notable as being the largest recorded quake caused by continental collision rather than subduction, and is also notable for the loud noises produced by the quake and reported throughout the region.

View the Source

Izu Peninsula (Wikipedia)

Causes: Izu Peninsula, Article text

Quote, Causes: Izu Peninsula, Article text

Tectonically, the Izu Peninsula results from the Philippine Sea Plate colliding with the Okhotsk Plate at the Nankai Trough.

View the Source

Wikipedia: Tepui

WikipediaCauses: Tepui, Article text

Quote, Causes: Tepui, Article text

Throughout the course of the history of Earth, the plateau began to erode and fragment about 300 million years ago (mya), and about 70 mya the tepuis were formed from the remaining monadnocks.

View the Source

Raised coral atoll (Wikipedia)

Causes: Raised coral atoll, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Raised coral atoll, Lead sentence

A raised coral atoll or uplifted coral atoll is an atoll that has been lifted high enough above sea level by tectonic forces, protecting it from scouring by storms and enabling soils and diverse, often endemic, species of flora and fauna to develop.

View the Source

Abyssal hill (Wikipedia)

Causes: Abyssal hill, Lead sentence

Quote, Causes: Abyssal hill, Lead sentence

They may be created along the flanks of the tectonically active East Pacific Rise as horst-and-graben features, then become stretched out with the passage of time.

View the Source

Central Valley (California) (Wikipedia)

Causes: Central Valley (California), Article text

Quote, Causes: Central Valley (California), Article text

The valley is thought to have originated below sea level as an offshore area depressed by subduction of the Farallon Plate into a trench farther offshore.

View the Source

Zhangye National Geopark (Wikipedia)

Causes: Zhangye National Geopark, Article text

Quote, Causes: Zhangye National Geopark, Article text

The result (similar to a layer cake), was tilted by the action of the same tectonic plates responsible for creating parts of the Himalayan mountains.

View the Source

Lesser Antilles (Wikipedia)

Causes: Lesser Antilles, Article text

Quote, Causes: Lesser Antilles, Article text

Many of the islands were formed as a result of the subduction of oceanic crust of the South American plate under the Caribbean plate in the Lesser Antilles subduction zone.

View the Source

Calchaquí Valley (Wikipedia)

Causes: Calchaquí Valley, Article text

Quote, Causes: Calchaquí Valley, Article text

The ravine is geologically relatively recent, produced by tectonic movements that took place in the last two million years.

View the Source

Aeolian Islands (Wikipedia)

Causes: Aeolian Islands, Article text

Quote, Causes: Aeolian Islands, Article text

The origin of the Aeolian Islands is due to movement of the Earth's crust as a result of plate tectonics.

View the Source

Spiti (Wikipedia)

Causes: Spiti, Article text

Quote, Causes: Spiti, Article text

Now, we know that the valley was uplifted from the ocean bed due to the movement of tectonic plates.

View the Source

Open Questions (1 open question)

When and how did plate tectonics itself begin on early Earth?

The rock and mineral record old enough to settle it is scarce and heavily altered: the Hadean and early Archean left almost no surviving crust to read directly, so estimates for when a single, stable, mobile-lid system of plates first organized range from roughly 4 billion to under 3 billion years ago, and some researchers argue the earliest crust moved under a different regime entirely before plate tectonics as it now works took over.

What would resolve this Either a substantially larger surviving sample of Hadean and early Archean crust than currently exists, or a geochemical or isotopic proxy, read from what does survive, that can distinguish plate-tectonic from non-plate-tectonic crustal recycling with confidence.

Abyssal hill

Abyssal plain

Aldan Shield

Amazonian Craton

Anabar Shield

Arabian Plate

Baltic Shield

Bangweulu Block

Calchaquí Valley

Canadian Shield

Churchill Craton

Congo Craton

Dharwar Craton

East Antarctic Shield

Gawler Craton

Guiana Shield

Hearne Craton

Iapetus Suture

Indus-Yarlung Suture Zone

Kaapvaal Craton

Kalahari Craton

Land bridge

Laurentia

Mid-ocean ridge

North Atlantic Craton

Oceanic trench

Pilbara Craton

Rae Craton

Raised coral atoll

Red Sea Rift

Sarmatian Craton

Siberian Craton

Slave Craton

Supercontinent

Superior Craton

Tanzania Craton

Ukrainian Shield

Undersea mountain range

Wrangellia Terrane

Wyoming Craton

Yilgarn Craton

Zealandia

Zimbabwe Craton

What causes plate tectonics?

Held Differently

Anticipated By

Rejected Here

Associated With

Caused By

Causes

In Discipline

Open Questions