Talk:Tectonic plate

The Article (Friday-2005-06-10) reads:

"The composition of the two types of crust differs markedly. Oceanic crust consists largely of basalt, while the continental crust consists principally of denser rocks rich in aluminum and silica. The two types of crust also differ in thickness, with continental crusts considerably thicker than oceanic."

I think that this is incorrect - shouldn't it read: "... while the continental crust consists principly of LESS DENSE rocks ..." ???

Otherwise the the continental crust would not "float" above the oceanic crust. - Keith Fail Austin Tx (WIKIKEITHatEXECUTIVECRISISMANAGEMENTdaughtCOM)


 * Fixed, thanks - I had missed that glitch. Vsmith 21:51, 10 Jun 2005 (UTC)

This article appears to equate tectonic plates and the lithosphere with the earth's crust: especially there is no mention of the mechanically distinct, solid 'upper upper mantle' above the asthenosphere, which together with the earth's crust forms the lithosphere (the 'lithosphere' article does go into this distinction). I'm just learning about plate tectonics and can't suggest just how to blend these overlapping compositional (crust/mantle) and mechanical (lithosphere/asthenosphere) distinctions that apparently even most earth science teachers struggle to unite (see http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=lithosphere). Despite the difficulty, I think it creates more misunderstanding in the long run to leave the solid mantle above the asthenosphere out of the presentation altogether. [jauntymcd@sprint.ca 20 Aug 2005]

On another note, why is it that there seems to be no talk about what split the lithosphere into plates? If some information could be dug up about theories involving where the plates came from, it would help expand this stubby article. BioTube 00:41, 27 April 2006 (UTC)

Unfortunately this article failed to be elected for the Article Improvement Drive. I've removed the tag since whoever removed the nomination(it had expired) failed to do so. BioTube 00:50, 30 May 2006 (UTC)