Visitors to this site can learn about the theory of plate tectonics, the history of its development, and the mechanisms that drive the formation, movement, and destruction of continents and tectonic plates. A selection of animations depicts the movements of crustal plates and continents through time. Each animation is accompanied by an interactive time scale that provides links to descriptions of ... Full description.

This is a collection of thirteen brief plate tectonic animations that were originally produced for the US Geological Survey video Secrets in Stone. They have been converted to animated gifs for web display. Full description.

This site contains a variety of plate tectonic animations, paleogeographic reconstructions, and paleoclimate animations. Each animation is viewable from the web page, and has accompanying text that explains the events portrayed. Examples include the formation of the ocean basins, the assembly and breakup of Pangaea, and the collision of India and Asia. Full description.

In the early 1900s, most geologists thought that Earth's appearance, including the arrangement of the continents, had changed little since its formation. This video segment describes the impact the theory of plate tectonics has had on our understanding of Earth's geological history, and provides a brief overview of what is currently known about the Earth's tectonic plates and their motions. The segment ... Full description.

This collection provides a wide array of visual resources and supporting material about plate tectonic movements. Visualizations include simple animations, GIS-based animated maps, paleogeographic maps and globes, and numerous illustrations and photos. This collection is not exhaustive but does represent some of the best sources for teaching. Resources can be incorporated into lectures, labs, or other ... Full description.

This collection of animations shows episodic tremor and slip (slow earthquakes) from a subducting plate with locked, slow slip, and no slip zones. The first two show wood blocks being pulled over sandpaper to simulate buildup and release of strain in locked and slow slip zones of a subducting tectonic plate, and to simulate episodic movement of a subducting tectonic plate. Graphs display time versus ... Full description.

Early evidence showing striking similarities between regions on opposite sides of vast oceans suggested that in Earth's distant past what are now separate continents may once have been connected. However, this evidence said nothing about how the continents could have moved to their present positions. This video shows how seafloor spreading creates new oceanic crust and how the crust is destroyed by ... Full description.

Earth's surface has changed in countless ways during the 4.6 billion years since it formed, and it continues to change today. This video segment looks at some of the geologic processes that have shaped the landscape near Lake Mead, Nevada, and shows how tensional movement in the vicinity of Lake Mead has begun pulling the North American continent apart. The segment is two minutes thirteen seconds ... Full description.

The scientific community does not always embrace every new idea that comes along. Alfred Wegener, the scientist who first proposed the theory of continental drift, learned that the hard way. This video segment shows how Wegner developed his theory by using multiple lines of evidence, and chronicles the less-than-enthusiastic reponse of the geologic community in the early twentieth century. It also ... Full description.

This is one of a series of animations that were produced to be part of the narrated video shown in the HoloGlobe exhibit at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and the Earth Today exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Full description.