Polar wander is the movement of the North and South Poles of the Earth with respect to the continents. This motion can be divided into two components: apparent polar wander, due to continental drift (the continents' movement over the mantle), and true polar wander, in which the mantle and the crust rotate together into new orientations.
Famous quotes containing the words polar and/or wander:
“In time your relatives will come to accept the idea that a career is as important to you as your family. Of course, in time the polar ice cap will melt.”
—Barbara Dale (b. 1940)
“See how the sacred old flamingoes come,
Painting with shadow all the marble steps:
Aged and wise, they seek their wonted perches
Within the temple, devious walking, made
To wander by their melancholy minds.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)