Continental and oceanic plates all fit together to form the outer crust of the planet. Eight major plates are named on the diagram below. Heat from the core makes magma in the mantle rise towards ...

It’s long been thought that tectonic plates needed to dive beneath each other to create the chemical fingerprint we see in continents. The research shows this fingerprint existed in Earth’s first ...

Scientists discovered Earth's first crust had continental chemical signatures. This challenges beliefs about when these ...

Deep trenches appear at these boundaries, caused by the oceanic plate bending downward into the Earth. Deep below the Earth's surface, subduction causes partial melting of both the ocean crust and ...

Researchers discover Earth's first crust, formed 4.5 billion years ago, had chemical features similar to modern continental crust. (photo credit: Tanya Kalian. Via Shutterstock) A study published ...