The theory of plate tectonics describes the movement of the plates across the Earth's lithosphere (the crust and upper mantle) through immense periods of time. Earth's litoshphere is composed of 7 (or 8, depending on how they are defined) major plates and many more minor plates.
The movement is attributed to different phenomena stemming from Earth's rotation, gravity, and mantle dynamics. All of these forces play a role in influencing the size, shape, and positioning of the different landmasses that currently shape our continents and islands.
Explanation:
In a nutshell, land originated from magma in the Earth's core escaping through the cracks and making its way to the ocean. The water cooled down the magma and this process created all of the land both above and below the sea. The landforms that we see all around the Earth today were formed thanks to collisions and separations of the plates thoughout billions of years.
Earth's plates are SLOWLY moving. More than 300 million years ago, The continent, Pangea. Then a few million years later the continent split more and more until we had The Continents we have today.
