What are tectonic plates?

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Wahida AhmedI am passionate about education and want to help! 17.5k students helped

The crust and the mantle of the earth are made up of rocks called tectonic plates. They usually fit together like a jigsaw. They are always moving a little which over a long period of time makes continents shift. This is called continental drift. Things like earthquakes happen when plate tectonics shake due to build up of pressure in the earth's crust. Hope that helps.