Earth’s crust looks solid from the surface, but it is broken into a shifting mosaic of slabs that slowly rearrange oceans and continents. Understanding how those tectonic plates first formed is one of ...

Watch the Earth's tectonic plates grow, shrink, and jostle for position in this new model of the last billion years on the ...

In the heart of Asia, deep underground, two huge tectonic plates are crashing into each other — a violent but slow-motion bout of geological bumper cars that over time has sculpted the soaring ...

A new study carried out on the floor of Pacific Ocean provides the most detailed view yet of how the earth’s mantle flows beneath the ocean’s tectonic plates. The findings, published in the journal ...

A spot in eastern Africa called the Afar Triangle marks the meeting point of three rift zones—lines where Earth’s crust is being rent apart. Researchers haven’t been sure exactly what drives this ...

The Earth with the upper mantle revealed. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have discovered a previously unknown layer of partly molten rock in a key region just below the tectonic ...

The formation of a sixth ocean, and the tectonic shifts that lie ahead, are proof that Earth is a dynamic, ever-evolving ...

It's the first time Earth's geologic record — information found inside rocks — has been used to create an animation of this kind. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate ...

Earth is estimated to be 4.5 billion years old, but understanding when it evolved from a sizzling hot ball to a planet that could host life is a little more difficult. Earth is estimated to be 4.5 ...

A newly identified tectonic "regime" may rewrite our understanding of how rocky worlds evolve, scientists report in a new ...

A study reveals that Earth alternated between chaotic and calm climates during the Paleozoic era, driven by tectonics and ...

In the heart of Asia, deep underground, two huge tectonic plates are crashing into each other — a violent but slow-motion bout of geological bumper cars that over time has sculpted the soaring ...