What best describes a continental plate?

• A. A tectonic plate primarily composed of basalt and found beneath the ocean.
• B. A boundary where continents drift apart.
• C. A tectonic plate that forms the continents and is primarily composed of granite.
• D. A layer of molten rock at the surface that reshapes land.

Answer: (C)

Continental plates are pieces of Earth's lithosphere that carry the continents. They are thicker and less dense than oceanic plates, and their crust is mainly granitic—made from light-colored, silica-rich rocks like granite. This granitic composition is a hallmark of continental crust, which is why describing a continental plate as forming the continents and being primarily granite is the best fit. The other ideas point to oceanic crust (basaltic and under oceans), a plate boundary rather than the plate itself, or a molten layer at the surface, none of which capture what a continental plate is.