Earth's Dynamic Geology: Plate Tectonics & Ocean Features Explained
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Understanding Plate Tectonics and Earth's Geological Features
Key Concepts in Plate Tectonics
- Alfred Wegener
- Proposed the theories of continental drift and plate tectonics in 1912.
- Continental Drift
- The theory that Earth's continents have moved over geological time relative to each other, appearing to drift across the ocean bed; they were once joined together as a single supercontinent.
- Plate Tectonics
- The scientific theory that the Earth's outer rigid layer, the lithosphere, is broken into large, rigid pieces called tectonic plates that are in constant motion over the Earth's mantle.
- Lithosphere
- The rigid outer layer of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle. Tectonic plates are made of the lithosphere.
- Asthenosphere
- The