litosfäärplaat

The lithosphere is the rigid outer part of the Earth, consisting of the crust and the upper mantle. This lithosphere is broken into a number of large and small pieces called lithospheric plates, or tectonic plates. These plates are constantly moving, albeit very slowly, relative to each other. The movement of these plates is driven by convection currents within the Earth's mantle, a process known as plate tectonics.

There are about a dozen major lithospheric plates and many smaller ones. Some of the largest include the Pacific Plate, the North American Plate, the Eurasian Plate, the African Plate, the Antarctic Plate, the Indo-Australian Plate, and the South American Plate. The boundaries between these plates are where most of the Earth's seismic and volcanic activity occurs.

When plates collide, they can form mountain ranges, cause earthquakes, or create deep ocean trenches. When plates move apart, magma from the mantle rises to fill the gap, creating new crust. When plates slide past each other, it can also generate significant earthquakes. The interactions at plate boundaries are fundamental to understanding Earth's geology and the distribution of its natural resources. The slow but continuous motion of these plates shapes the surface of our planet over millions of years.