<P> The lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet (the crust and upper mantle), is broken into tectonic plates . The Earth's lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates (depending on how they are defined) and many minor plates . Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary: convergent, divergent, or transform . Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain - building, and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries (or faults). The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually . </P> <P> Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust . Along convergent boundaries, subduction, or one plate moving under another, carries the lower one down into the mantle; the material lost is roughly balanced by the formation of new (oceanic) crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading . In this way, the total surface of the lithosphere remains the same . This prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle . Earlier theories, since disproven, proposed gradual shrinking (contraction) or gradual expansion of the globe . </P> <P> Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth's lithosphere has greater mechanical strength than the underlying asthenosphere . Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection; that is, the slow creeping motion of Earth's solid mantle . Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the seafloor away from spreading ridges due to variations in topography (the ridge is a topographic high) and density changes in the crust (density increases as newly formed crust cools and moves away from the ridge). At subduction zones the relatively cold, dense crust is "pulled" or sinks down into the mantle over the downward convecting limb of a mantle cell . Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by tidal forces of the Sun and Moon . The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to each other is unclear, and still the subject of much debate . </P> <P> The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and asthenosphere . The division is based on differences in mechanical properties and in the method for the transfer of heat . The lithosphere is cooler and more rigid, while the asthenosphere is hotter and flows more easily . In terms of heat transfer, the lithosphere loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by convection and has a nearly adiabatic temperature gradient . This division should not be confused with the chemical subdivision of these same layers into the mantle (comprising both the asthenosphere and the mantle portion of the lithosphere) and the crust: a given piece of mantle may be part of the lithosphere or the asthenosphere at different times depending on its temperature and pressure . </P>

The motion of earth’s plates is driven by