You may be looking for the term continental drift, but a more accurate answer to your question is that tectonic plates can move because they float on the underlying magma, so the process that allows them to move is simply floating.
The asthenoshere acts like jello and allows the lithosphere, containing the plate, to move. Tectonic plates could not move without the asthenoshere.
The movement of tectonic plates is primarily driven by the energy released from the Earth's internal heat, known as geothermal energy. This energy causes convection currents in the mantle, which in turn exerts forces on the tectonic plates, causing them to move.
The asthenosphere is the region of the Earth that is soft and putty-like, located beneath the lithosphere. The asthenosphere allows for the movement of tectonic plates due to its semi-fluid state, which allows the plates to slide and move over it.
Tectonic plates move thousands of miles because they are not anchored down.
tectonic plates
The lithosphere.
convection currents
the hot magma moves around and they move.
The asthenoshere acts like jello and allows the lithosphere, containing the plate, to move. Tectonic plates could not move without the asthenoshere.
Plate Tectonics is the process by by which the earth's tectonic plates move.
The tectonic plates float on the asthenosphere, which is a semi-liquid layer located beneath the lithosphere. The asthenosphere consists of partially molten rock that allows the rigid tectonic plates to move and interact with one another. It plays a key role in the process of plate tectonics.
No(see the explanation of the question "Why do the tectonic plates move?"
The movement of tectonic plates is primarily driven by the energy released from the Earth's internal heat, known as geothermal energy. This energy causes convection currents in the mantle, which in turn exerts forces on the tectonic plates, causing them to move.
The asthenoshere acts like jello and allows the lithosphere, containing the plate, to move. Tectonic plates could not move without the asthenoshere.
The asthenosphere is the region of the Earth that is soft and putty-like, located beneath the lithosphere. The asthenosphere allows for the movement of tectonic plates due to its semi-fluid state, which allows the plates to slide and move over it.
The asthenosphere allows tectonic plates to move
The upper layer. It is filled with melted liquid.