plate tectonics
noun1
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences The large-scale movement of tectonic plates that contributes to continental drift.
- And of course, in order to understand the Earth's past and how it got to where it now is, it is important to have a basic knowledge of plate tectonics, which explains how the planet's continental and oceanic crusts are part of the lithospheric plates that are buoyant and ride upon the highly viscous asthenosphere.2012, Chinle Miller, In Mesozoic Lands: The Mesozoic Geology of Arches and Canyonlands National Parks, Kindle edition:
- Related terms
- tectonic plate