CONTINENTAL DRIFT

               CONTINENTAL DRIFT
       
The Earth's crust is not a single continuous layer. It is made up of a number of gigantic pieces like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Each piece is called a crustal plate. Currents of molten rock rise up through the mantle like boiling water in a saucepan. These from convection cells that drive the moment of the plates so that they are continuously moving away or towards each other. Geologically, the most important things happen at the plate boundaries, including most of the earthquake, volcanoes, igneous rocks,major metamorphism, and mountain building processes.

The surface of the earth is made up of 10 largest plates, and 20 medium plates and numerous small plates. The 10 largest plates are : 
1. PACIFIC PLATE.
2. ANTARCTIC PLATE.
3. INDIAN PLATE.
4. AFRICAN PLATE.
5. SOUTH AMERICAN PLATE.
6. NAZCA PLATE.
7. NORTH AMERICAN PLATE.
8. EURASIAN PLATE.
9. COCOS PLATE.
10. AUSTRALIAN PLATE.