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How do tectonic plates move?
Quick answer
Tectonic plates are huge slabs of Earth's crust that float on the hot, slowly flowing rock beneath. Heat from deep inside Earth drives convection currents in that rock, dragging the plates a few centimeters a year — building mountains and causing earthquakes.
Step by step
- Plates are giant slabs of Earth's rigid outer shell.
- They float on hotter, slowly flowing rock below.
- Convection currents in that rock drag them along.
- They move only a few centimeters per year.
People also ask
How do tectonic plates move?
Heat-driven convection currents in the hot rock beneath slowly drag the plates across Earth's surface.
How fast do tectonic plates move?
Very slowly — roughly a few centimeters a year, about as fast as your fingernails grow.
What happens where plates meet?
They collide, pull apart, or slide past each other, causing mountains, volcanoes, and earthquakes.
Part of the guide: Nature & Earth: Living Things and Rocks →