Plate tectonics combines continental drift and seafloor spreading theories, presenting the latter as a reason for the former.
Plate tectonics
Plate tectonics is the scientific theory that Earth's surface is broken up into huge, slow-moving slabs called tectonic plates. The movement of these plates drives many geologic processes including most earthquakes and volcanoes. Plate boundaries are the areas where two tectonic plates meet.
The two most important factors contributing to plate tectonics on Earth are the movement of convection currents within the mantle and the internal heat generated by radioactive decay in Earth's core. These forces drive the motion of the lithospheric plates, causing them to move and interact at plate boundaries.
Plate tectonics can cause a number of things. This includes earthquakes when two plates grind together. Earthquakes occur along fault lines, which is why California gets a lot of earthquakes. It is along the San Andreas Fault. Plate tectonics can also cause mountains or volcanoes when one plate goes under another one. That is still happening in most mountain ranges, which is why Mount Everest grows a bit each year. Islands can also occur, but I don't know the specifics.
The Southern part of California is on the Pacific plate and the Northern part of California is on the North American plate.
But plate tectonics is the theory which suggests that the Earth's crust is made up of solid plates moving relative to each other. Plate tectonics and the plate tectonics theory aren't really two separate things. However plates are pieces of the Earth's crust which are moving.
Tidal waves, Earthquakes, landslides
Plate tectonics
continental drift and plate tectonics are two side of a coin. As the continents are interlinked with the plates; so as the plate moved due to conviction current the continents also tends to move causing continental drift. Moment of plates due to conviction current or due to the adjacent plate is called plate tectonics.
There are 2 tectonics theories namely: divergent boundary and subduction zone. The boundary of the plate tectonics where two plates are placed is called divergent boundary while the subduction zone is a convergent boundary where in one plate is subducted on another.
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There are more than two plates involved in the ring of fire.
The plate tectonics theory includes the concept of sea-floor spreading, which explains how new oceanic crust is created at mid-ocean ridges. It also incorporates the idea of subduction zones, where one tectonic plate moves beneath another into the mantle. These concepts were not part of Alfred Wegener's original theory of continental drift.
An ancient ocean (Tethys Sea), opened to split Pangea in two.
I think it is plate tectonics
The Earth's lithosphere is divided into two types of crust: continental crust, which is thicker and less dense, and oceanic crust, which is thinner and more dense. The movement of these two types of crust against each other is what drives the process of plate tectonics on Earth.
two tectonic plates meet usually at mid ocean ridges (eg Iceland) and at destructive plate boundaries (eg Japan).