How are mountains formed? Why are there old and young mountains? Why do the shapes of South America and Africa fit so well together? Why is the Pacific surrounded by a ring of volcanoes and earthquake-prone areas while the edges of the Atlantic are relatively peaceful?

Frisch and Meschede and Blakey answer all these questions and more through the presentation and explanation of the geodynamic processes upon which the theory of continental drift is based and which have led to the concept of plate tectonics.

1. Contractional theory, continental drift and plate tectonics,- 2 Plate movements and their geometric relationships,- 3. Continental graben structures,- 4. Passive continental margins and abyssal plains,- 5. Mid-ocean ridges,- 6. Hot spots,- 7. Subduction zones, island arcs and active continental maragins,- 8. Transform faults,- 9. Terranes,- 10. Early Precambrian plate tectonics,- 11. Plate tectonics and mountain building,- 12. Old orogens,- 13. Young orogens - the Earth's loftiest places.