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The earth is not solid all the way
through. It has different layers that behave in different
ways. At the centre, is a solid core, and
then around that is a liquid core. Above those layers is a very thick
layer called the mantle, which is thick and flowing - rather
like golden syrup. Then at the very surface is the crust
- this is only around 8km thick under the ocean, and maybe
up to 40km thick on land. The crust is very very thin, and it
floats on the top of the mantle. Scientists think that the crust is
broken into different plates, and they call these tectonic
plates. The tectonic plates move around (but
VERY VERY slowly!) and they can bump into each other, or
move away from each other. This explains why over millions of
years, land masses on the earth can look quite different.
They have moved around!
