11.1.3

Tectonic Plates

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Tectonic Plates

The Earth's crust is broken into large pieces called tectonic plates. There are two kinds of tectonic plates:

Illustrative background for Continental platesIllustrative background for Continental plates ?? "content

Continental plates

  • Continental plates are thicker, older and lighter, so they do not sink (subduct).
Illustrative background for Oceanic platesIllustrative background for Oceanic plates ?? "content

Oceanic plates

  • Oceanic plates are thinner, younger, and denser so they can sink (subduct) under another plate.
Illustrative background for Plate margin (boundary)Illustrative background for Plate margin (boundary) ?? "content

Plate margin (boundary)

  • Plate boundaries and plate margins are the same thing.
  • They describe the location on Earth where 2 tectonic plates meet or sit next to each other.

Jump to other topics

1Geography Skills

2Geology of the UK

3Geography of the World

4Development

5Weather & Climate

6The World of Work

7Natural Resources

8Rivers

9Coasts

10Glaciers

11Tectonics

12Climate Change

13Global Population & Inequality

14Urbanisation

15Ecosystems

16Life in an Emerging Country

17Analysis of Africa

18Analysis of India

19Analysis of the Middle East

20Analysis of Bangladesh

21Analysis of Russia

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