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that explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere. That
means, the total system of plate motions is commonly refered to as “plate-tectonics”.
The theory encompassed and superseded the older theory of continental drift from the first half
of the 20th century and the concept of seafloor spreading developed during the 1960s.
All these ideas, and many more, are encompassed in the concept of plate
tectonics
•The lithosphere is the upper layer of Earth's interior, including the crust and the brittle
portion at the top of the mantle.
•This deformation is the result of the release and redistribution of energy from Earth's
core.
•There are two components of this energy: gravity, a function of the enormous mass at the
core, and heat from radioactive decay.
•Differences in mass and heat within the planet's interior, known as pressure gradients,
result in the deformation of rocks.
Under the effects of these stresses, rocks may bend, warp, slide, or break.
As a result, Earth's interior may manifest faults, or fractures in rocks, as well as folds, or
bends in the rock structure.
The effects of this activity can be seen on the surface in the form of subsidence, which
is a depression in the crust, or uplift, which is the raising of crustal materials.
•There are two basic types of tectonism: orogenesis and epeirogenesis.
•Orogenesis is taken from the Greek words oros ("mountain") and genesis ("origin")
and involves the formation of mountain ranges by means of folding, faulting, and
volcanic activity.
•The Greek word epeiros means "mainland," and epeirogenesis is manifested the form
of either uplift or subsidence.
•The outermost part of the Earth's interior is made up of two layers: above is the lithosphere,
comprising the crust and the rigid uppermost part of the mantle.
•Although solid, the asthenosphere has relatively low viscosity and shear strength and can
flow like a liquid on geological time scales.
•The deeper mantle below the asthenosphere is more rigid again. This is, however, not due to
cooler temperatures but due to high pressure.
•The lithosphere is broken up into what are called tectonic plates —
in the case of Earth, there are seven major and many minor plates .
About 1,100 million years ago, there was a supercontinent named Rodinia, which
predated Pangaea.
•Eventually, Pangaea split into two halves, with the northern continent of Laurasia and the
southern continent of Gondwanaland, sometimes called Gondwana, separated by the
Tethys Sea.
• In time, Laurasia split to form North America, the Eurasian land-mass with the exception
of the Indian subcontinent, and Greenland.
• Gondwanaland also split, forming the major southern landmasses of the world: Africa,
South America, Antarctica, Australia, and India.
•Starting at about 514 Ma, Laurasia drifted southward until it crashed into Gondwanaland
about 425 Ma. Pangaea, surrounded by a vast ocean called Panthalassa ("All Ocean"),
formed approximately 356 Ma.
Selected Major Plates
North American (almost all of North America and Mexico, along with Greenland and the
northwestern quadrant of the Atlantic)
South American (all of South America and the southwestern quadrant of the Atlantic)
African (Africa, the southeastern Atlantic, and part of the Indian Ocean)
Eurasian (Europe and Asia, excluding the Indian subcontinent, along with surrounding
ocean areas)
Indo-Australian (India, much of the Indian Ocean, Australia, and parts of the Indonesian
archipelago and New Zealand)
•Divergent boundaries occur where two plates slide apart from each other. Mid-
ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and active zones of rifting (such as
Africa‘s Great Rift Valley) are both examples of divergent boundaries.