Investigates the nature of catastrophic volcanism and the rifting process. Describes two kinds of evidence: quantitative descriptions of rock melting and a wide range of observations. Discusses examples of continent growth in the North Atlantic, India and the Seychelles islands, and the South Atlantic. (YP)

Students must understand the fundamental process of convection before they can grasp a wide variety of Earth processes, many of which may seem abstract because of the scales on which they operate. Presentation of a very visual, concrete model prior to instruction on these topics may facilitate students' understanding of processes that are largely…