TECTONIC PLATES
Tectonic plates, large slabs of rock that divide Earth’s crust, move constantly to reshape the Earth’s landscape. The system of ideas behind plate tectonics theory suggests that Earth's outer shell (lithosphere) is divided into several plates that glide over the Earth’s rocky inner layer above the soft core (mantle). The plates act like a hard and rigid shell compared to Earth's mantle. The mantle sits between Earth's dense, very hot core and its thin outer layer, the crust.
Plate tectonics has become the unifying theory of geology. It explains the earth’s surface movement, current and past, which has created the tallest mountain ranges and the deepest oceans
