Earth’s surface is constantly shifting, shaped by the slow but powerful movement of tectonic plates. While some plates have ...

The Earth's plates jostle about in fits and starts that are punctuated with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 4 min read There are a few handfuls of major plates and dozens of smaller ...

It has vast water oceans and abundant life. But Earth is also unique because it is the only planet with plate tectonics, which shaped its geology, climate and possibly influenced the evolution of ...

Earth's surface is a turbulent place. Mountains rise, continents merge and split, and earthquakes shake the ground. All of these processes result from plate tectonics, the movement of enormous ...

The continents are carried by the Earth's tectonic plates like people on an escalator. There are currently 7 giant plates sliding across the Earth's surface, and a handful of smaller ones.

A breakthrough study has provided the most detailed 3D look yet at the inner workings of the Tonga Subduction Zone, where ...

Earthquakes occur when the rock on one side of a fault slips relative to the other. The fault surface can be vertical, ...

The Earth is made up of different layers: Therefore, instead of tectonic plates moving because of the convection currents, evidence suggests it is the plates that drive the convection. Slab pull ...

Giant regions of the mantle where seismic waves slow down may have formed from subducted ocean crust, a new study finds.

For decades, seismologists have worked to understand and predict earthquakes, but forecasting remains elusive. Now, ...

The Earth is made of different layers: the core, mantle and crust. Plate tectonic theory shows that the crust of the Earth is split into plates (pieces of the Earth’s crust). The movement of ...