Exploratour - The Surface of the Earth
The Plates of the Earth
The lithosphere and crust are divided into many plates . The many plates are shown in the image to the left. Complete labels for the plates can be seen by clicking on this picture.
Both continental crust and oceanic crust can be part of a single plate. For example the Pacific plate contains the Pacific Ocean floor as well as part of the North American continent. The plates move on the surface of the Earth at the rate of about 2 cm per year.
How these land masses came to be is discussed in the Exploratour on the Archean Age of the Earth (found at the link below).