tectonic plate

American  

[tek-tan-ik playt] / tɛkˈtan ɪk ˌpleɪt /

noun

1. Geology. a solid, massive slab of the earth's lithosphere, always in motion atop the softer mantle, touching and shifting other tectonic plates, which together cover the entire earth and whose collisions can be intense enough to create volcanoes, mountains, and earthquakes.

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Example Sentences

"It seems like the moon is one of the magical ingredients that makes the Earth a good place for life. It can help shield Earth from some asteroids, it produces ocean tides and weather that allow chemistry and biology to mix globally, and it may even play a role in driving tectonic plate activity. Right now, we don't know how common these dynamics are. But if we catch more of these collisions, we'll start to figure it out."

From Science Daily

Studying these deep tremors could provide new clues about the crust mantle boundary and the behavior of the upper mantle, which generates volcanic magma and helps drive tectonic plate motion.

From Science Daily

The Pioneer fragment was once part of the Farallon plate, an ancient tectonic plate that once extended along the California coastline and has since mostly disappeared.

From Science Daily

It ruptured at a depth of about 125 kilometers beneath the surface, inside the subducting tectonic plate itself.

From Science Daily

This occurs as an oceanic tectonic plate sinks deeper into the Earth's interior.

From Science Daily