Final answer:
Rock formations are moved by the slow process of plate tectonics, where Earth's lithospheric plates interact at boundaries, causing continental drift, mountain building, and other geological features. Mountain ranges like the Alps are formed through the convergence of tectonic plates. This process also serves as a cooling system for the Earth.
Step-by-step explanation:
Rock formations move between Earth's surface and interior through a process known as plate tectonics. This geological theory explains how the mantle's slow movements drive the crust's large segments, causing continental drift, mountain formation, and other large-scale features. Lithospheric plates move at rates of millimeters to centimeters per year and interact at different types of boundaries: divergent (moving apart), convergent (moving together), and transform (sliding past one another).
When plates converge, they can create mountain ranges such as the Alps, where the African plate collides with the Eurasian plate. Similarly, at divergent boundaries, new crust is formed as two plates move away from each other, and at transform boundaries, earthquakes can occur as plates grind past one another. Plate tectonics is Earth's way of regulating its temperature, by transferring heat from the interior out towards space.