Summary
The animation illustrates the movements of the lithospheric plates from 250 million years in the past through to the present, as well as projections of continental movements 30 million years into the future. Click on button to see the position of lithospheric plates today. Rollover the continents to see the names of the lithospheric plates. Search 356 Continental Shift jobs now available in Ontario on Indeed.com, the world's largest job site. Continental Drift. These maps show a succession of two or even three different supercontinents, stretching back over a thousand million years. Not surprisingly the evidence gets increasingly uncertain as we go back in time. The Continental shift schedule is a fast rotating shift pattern that uses 4 teams and three 8-hr shifts to provide 24/7 coverage. Each team rotates through a sequence of 2, 2, and 3 consecutive day shifts, swing shifts, night shifts, or days off. The following is a typical team schedule for a 4-week (28 days) repeat cycle. Continental shift (plural continental shifts) A type of work cycle, most commonly at a manufacturing plant or institution, with shifts worked four days in a row, followed by four days off in a row.
The heat from inside the Earth causes the material of the mantle to permanently rise up along the ocean ridges, resulting in the formation of a dense basaltic crust which slowly rolls away from the ridge, much like a rug being rolled up. The continents, which are made of an insubmersible lightweight crust, passively drift with the movement of the lithospheric plates on which they sit.
The animation illustrates the movements of the lithospheric plates from 250 million years in the past through to the present, as well as projections of continental movements 30 million years into the future.
Click on button to see the position of lithospheric plates today.
Rollover the continents to see the names of the lithospheric plates.
Click on or to play/stop the animation.
Learning goals
Continental Shift Patterns
- To illustrate the arrangement and movements of the lithospheric plates on the Geological Time Scale.
- To study of the evolution of lithospheric plates’ positions, from Pangea to the present, as well as an extrapolation of their positions in the distant future (30 MY).
Learn more
Continental Shift Definition
Due to the interior heat of the Earth, material in the mantle rises to the level of the oceanic ridges, creating a permanent, dense basaltic crust that moves slowly like a baggage carousel. The…