Plate boundaries are where the action is. A large fraction of all earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building occurs at plate boundaries. It is also where most of the people on Earth live.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. If you've ever wondered where — and why — earthquakes happen the most, look no further than a new ...

Last Sunday, May 24, marked the 109th birthday of geologist Harry Hammond Hess, who discovered the primary mechanism of plate tectonics. That's the process through that determined how the shape of ...

The solid ground that we all live on forms a thin crust around the Earth. It’s no more than 50km thick - and it’s just the upper part of the lithosphere. Below it is the upper mantle. It’s mostly ...

Investigating the causes and consequences of volcanoes and featuring case studies from the Canary Islands, The Democratic Republic of the Congo and Iceland. Below Earth’s surface, in the upper mantle, ...

Map - Pacific Plate tectonics (IMAGE) University of Toronto Caption The map highlights in yellow the zones of the Pacific Plate that are being pulled apart by the sinking tectonic plate along the ...

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

Scientists have identified a long-lost tectonic plate in the west Pacific Ocean. Called Pontus, the 'mega-plate' was once 15 million square miles, about a quarter the size of the Pacific Ocean today.