Kontinentalplatte

Kontinentalplatten are large, rigid segments of the Earth's lithosphere, which comprises the crust and the uppermost mantle. These plates are not static but rather float on the semi-fluid asthenosphere beneath them. The movement of these plates, known as plate tectonics, is driven by convection currents within the Earth's mantle.

The Earth's lithosphere is broken into numerous continental and oceanic plates. Continental plates are thicker and less dense than oceanic plates, and they make up the continents and their submerged continental shelves. Oceanic plates are thinner and denser, forming the ocean basins.

The boundaries between these plates are zones of intense geological activity. When plates collide, they can form mountain ranges or cause one plate to subduct beneath another, leading to volcanic activity and earthquakes. When plates move apart, magma rises from the mantle to create new oceanic crust at mid-ocean ridges. Plates can also slide past each other, generating transform faults and significant seismic events. The theory of plate tectonics explains many of Earth's large-scale geological features and processes, including the distribution of continents, oceans, volcanoes, and earthquakes.