What do tectonic plates consist of?

Tectonic plates are made of both oceanic and continental crust. The plate itself is made up of rock and lies thousands of miles underneath the ground. Tectonic plates can also move and crash against each other (causing mountains to form) or pull away from each other (valleys). They are typically very wide, though there are some smaller, thinner plates. Some even house whole continents.

These tectonic plates are also responsible for the formation of volcanoes and the cause of earthquakes. This doesn’t mean they’re all bad. Tectonic plates are also responsible for the beautiful landscape we have today. Various mountain ranges today were formed over thousands of years by the tectonic plates mashing against each other for long periods of time.

The tectonic plates consist of both oceanic and continental crust. They are a solid, irregularly shaped rock that can measure from a hundred to thousands of kilometers. The continental crust is made of granite rocks while the oceanic crust, on the other hand, is composed of basaltic rocks.

Granitic rocks are lighter in weight while basalt is much denser and heavier. That is the reason why tectonic plates float and do not sink into the deep abyss. The boundaries between tectonic plates are beneath the ocean that is why it is difficult to see them without using a submarine and special gears. Tectonic plates also vary in thickness depending on the size of the plate as nature’s way of balancing them.