- theory describing the movement of lithospheric plates on Earth’s asthenosphere
- driven by mantle convection, ridge push, and slab pull
- three boundary types: divergent (spreading), convergent (collision/subduction), transform (sliding)
- divergent boundaries create mid-ocean ridges and new crust
- convergent boundaries build mountains, island arcs, and deep trenches
- transform boundaries produce earthquakes along fault lines
- responsible for volcano formation, continent drift, and mountain building
- the Himalayas formed from the Indian plate colliding with the Eurasian plate
- the Ring of Fire encircles the Pacific with subduction zones
- cycling of crust connects to the carbon cycle through volcanic outgassing and weathering