Hotspots help drive tectonic plates
July 7, 2011After more than six years, I can still remember quite a few lessons from my earth science class in eighth grade. One of the more fascinating topics for me was plate tectonics, which explain the movement of the earth’s continents over its extensive geologic history. While I recall that the major force driving these plates is a convection of magma underneath the earth’s crust that pulls and pushes on the plates, yet another force has been found helping to drive these plates.