Plate Tectonics
A comprehensive explanation of how Earth's continents formed — from the accretion of early cratons through the formation and breakup of supercontinents including Pangaea, the mechanisms of plate tectonics, the Wilson Cycle, and how the continents continue to move today.
Read full article: How the Continents Formed: Plate Tectonics, Pangaea, and 4 Billion Years of Earth History →Articles on Plate Tectonics (4)
geography › world geography
How the Continents Formed: Plate Tectonics, Pangaea, and 4 Billion Years of Earth History
A comprehensive explanation of how Earth's continents formed — from the accretion of early cratons through the formation and breakup of supercontinents including Pangaea, the mechanisms of plate tectonics, the Wilson Cycle, and how the continents continue to move today.
8 min readgeography › world geography
What Are Tectonic Plates? Earth's Moving Surface Explained
Learn what tectonic plates are, how they move, and why plate tectonics drives earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain building across Earth's surface.
8 min readgeography › world geography
How Mountains Form: Tectonic Forces and Erosion Explained
Learn how mountains form through tectonic plate collisions, volcanic activity, and faulting, plus how erosion shapes peaks over millions of years of geologic time.
8 min readgeography › world geography
What Is Plate Tectonics? The Theory That Explains Earth's Surface
Understand plate tectonics theory, how tectonic plates move, the types of plate boundaries, and how this process creates earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain ranges.
8 min read