The 1960s revealed a new & revolutionary idea in geological thought that the continents drift with respect to one another After having been dismissed for decades as absurd the concept gradually became part of geology's basic principles We now know that the Earth's crust & upper mantle consist of a small number of rigid plates that move & there are significant boundaries between pairs of plates usually known as earthquake belts Plate tectonics now explains much of the structure & phenomena we see today how oceans form widen & disappear; why earthquakes & volcanoes are found in distinct zones which follow plate boundaries; how the great mountain ranges of the world were built The impact of plate tectonics is studied closely as these processes continue the Himalaya continues to grow the Atlantic is widening & new oceans are forming In this Very Short Introduction Peter Molnar provides a succinct & authoritative account of the nature & mechanisms of plate tectonics & its impact on our understanding of Earth ABOUT THE SERIES The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly Our expert authors combine facts analysis perspective new ideas & enthusiasm to make interesting & challenging topics highly readable