Memorizing seven continents feels settled, like learning the alphabet. A new study argues the ground rules are less tidy.

Disregard what you learned in geography class—Earth may not have seven continents after all. From the earliest of grades, schoolchildren around the world have memorized the same lineup: Africa, ...

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 ...

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 ...

Africa is separating into two – and the split likely started tens of millions of years ago, according to a new study. By studying magnetic data, scientists at Keele University have discovered evidence ...

For decades, the end-stage life of a subduction zone existed only in theory. Now, for the first time in geologic history, scientists are bearing witness to the Juan de Fuca Plate tearing apart and ...

Plate tectonics is a highly complex phenomenon that underpins almost every geological process and our understanding of Earth. Increasingly sophisticated computers and statistical approaches, including ...

About 150 million years ago, a massive tectonic mega-plate stretched across the Earth, spanning roughly a quarter of the size of the Pacific Ocean. Its jagged contours ran all the way through the ...

The Arabian and African tectonic plates failed to pull apart 28 million years ago at the Gulf of Suez, but the area hasn't stopped rifting. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an ...

The tectonic plates are among the most powerful forces on Earth, exerting tremendous influence over every single life that unfolds on this planet. They are both creators and destroyers, capable of ...