TECTONIC PLATE

It is a large slab of solid rock made up of both continental and oceanic lithosphere that is known
as a tectonic plate (also known as a lithospheric plate).

Like slow-moving bumper cars, tectonic plates originated early in the Earth's 4.6 billion-year
existence and have been wandering around on the surface ever since, aggregating and then separating.

The size of the plates varies from hundreds of kilometers to thousands of kilometers.

For new oceanic lithosphere, plate thickness ranges from less than 15 km to more than 200 km
for old continental lithosphere (for example, the interior parts of North and South America).

SEVEN MAJOR TECTONIC PLATES

Below are the seven major plates arranged from biggest to smallest:

1. Pacific Plate
2. North American Plate
3. Eurasian Plate
4. African Plate
5. Antarctic Plate
6. Indo-Australian Plate
7. South American Plate

MINOR TECTONIC PLATES

 Juan de Fuca plate

 Caribbean plate
 Cocos plate
 Scotia plate
 Arabian plate
 Indian plate
 Philippine plate

The majority of the boundaries between individual plates are hidden beneath the oceans and
thus cannot be seen. However, measurements from GEOSAT satellites can accurately map oceanic plate
boundaries from space. Near these boundaries, earthquakes and volcanic activity are concentrated.

THE FOUR MECHANISMS BY WHICH TECTONIC PLATES MOVE

1. CONVECTION CURRENT- magma from the Earth's core rises and cools as it reaches the surface 
before sinking back down, causing the plates to move apart. This results in convection current.
2. RIDGE PUSH- happens when newly formed rock at the mid ocean ridge is warmer and less
dense than older rock. The older, denser rock is on top of the less dense rock. As a result, the ol
 der rock will begin to slant downward and away from the ridge. The plate is pushed away from t
he mid-ocean ridge by this downward force, known as ridge push.
3. SLAB PULL- The denser tectonic plate sinks and subducts beneath the less dense tectonic plate
at a subduction zone. The leading edge of the subducting plate sinks into the mantle, dragging
the other plates along with it. Gravity is used in this process to pull the tectonic plate down and
cause movement.
4. TRENCH SUCTION- occurs when a small-scale convection current in the mantle wedge pushes
the plate back into the mantle, further away from the ridge. The plates move about 10 cm per
year as a result of these actions.

TYPES OF PLATE BOUNDARY

 CONVERGENT BOUNDARY- movement of plates is toward each other

 DIVERGENT BOUNDARY- plates move away from one another
 TRANSFORM BOUNDARY- plates move in an opposite direction or sliding movement
REFERENCES

California Earthquake Authority (2020). Understanding Plate Tectonic Theory. Retrieved from
https://www.earthquakeauthority.com/Blog/2020/Understanding-Plate-Tectonic-Theory#:~:text=There
%20are%20seven%20major%20plates,plate%20at%2039%2C768%2C522%20square%20miles. February
7, 2022

EARTHHOW (2022). 7 Major Tectonic Plates: The World’s Largest Plate Tectonics. Retrieved from
https://earthhow.com/7-major-tectonic-plates/. February 7, 2022

United States Geological Survey (n.a). What is a Tectonic Plate?. Retrieved from
https://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/dynamic/tectonic.html. February 7, 2022