What is a plate?

Plate - A plate is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, both continental and oceanic crust, and upper part of the mantle. They divide the earth into a series of sections. They are relatively cold and rigid, interlock with each other.

{Size & Thickness may vary}

How do plates move?

Convection Currents - The core distributes heat due to radioactivity. This heat is not evenly distributed which leads to hotter and cooler areas.

  1. Rocks in the mantle that are closer to the core [lower mantle] heat up faster and start to rise due to being less dense
  2. As they go further and further away from the core they start to cool and be more dense
  3. The now dense rocks then sink and make their way back closer to the core
  4. This process repeats and leads to convection currents which drag at the plates making them move.

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Fold Mountains:

Fold Mountains - Form due to the powerful compression of 2 tectonic plates [Usually continental], which squeezes the layers of rocks so that the upfolds form the ridges and the downfolds form the valleys.

Eg. Himalayas, Andes & Alps

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Plate Margins

Convergent [Destructive] Plate Margins

Plates move towards each other [Collide]

Continental and Oceanic Plates -