Plate tectonics

Plate tectonics (from the Late Latin tectonicus, from the Greek:τεκτονικός "pertaining to building") is a scientific theory that describes the large-scale motion of Earth's lithosphere. This theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift which was developed during the first few decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early 1960s.