![]() An example of a tectonic plate containing both the oceanic crust and the continental crust is the African plate which consists of the continent and the parts of the floor of the Atlantic and the Indian Ocean. The tectonic plates are made up of lithospheric mantle consisting of two types of crustal material: either the oceanic crust which is found below the water of oceans (made up of silicon and magnesium) or the continental crust (made up of silicon and aluminium) which floats on the water or both. Thus, in order to define tectonic plates or also known as the lithospheric plates, one says that the tectonic plates are the separate and distinct plates made up of lithosphere which ride upon the fluid-like asthenosphere. And a plate here means the fragments of the lithospheric surface of the earth which are different from each other in various properties. The tectonic meaning includes all the large-scale activities such as the volcanic activity that takes place on the lithospheric mantle of the earth. Now, thinking about the topic the first two questions that arise are - what is tectonic and what is plate. This difference is based on the differences in the mechanical properties and the transfer of heat in-between the two layers. The outermost layers of the Earth are divided into two - the lithosphere and asthenosphere. Moving further the plate tectonic theory and the tectonic plates definition are explained below. Also, it has provided an in-depth understanding of the evolution of Earth’s surface and reconstruction of the past of the continents and oceans. The theory provides a uniform understanding of mountain-building processes, volcanoes and earthquakes. The geoscientific community has accepted the plate tectonic theory after obtaining significant proof on the seafloor spreading concept. The plate tectonic theory is built from the concept of the sliding and movement of the continents. Plate tectonics is a scientific theory that describes the large-scale movement and the distribution of the plates that make up the earth’s lithosphere.
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