What do continents "lay" on?

Question

It's a simple question.. What do continents "lay" on? Do they float on water? or are they huge bodies that "emerge" from the sea floor/bed? are they connected to the bottom of the oceans? Hope the question is clear. Don't be afraid to be thorough and scientific in your answer, I'll appreciate it and do everything to understand it.

Answer 1

Continents essentially float on magma from the mantel. Now they still "float" on magma like all of the other tectonic plates, but the difference between the ocean and the continents is as follows:

Ocean plates are thinner. They also are subducted, or sent underneath continental plates when the two meet. The ocean plates continue down underneath the continental plate until it reaches magma hot enough to melt it. It then becomes magma itself, as part of the mantel, and continues to circulate underneath the continental plate. When it gets near the edge of the other side of the continental plate, the magma begins to rise and cool, forming rocks that now become the next oceanic plate, and the process repeats itself over millions of years.

So continents float on magma. The magma comes from the mantel. Oceanic plates do the same; however, they can go underneath continental plates. If the continents went underneath the oceanic plates, overtime, coastal cities would be submerged underwater, and eventually, under the ocean floor. So lets be happy the continental plates always win the battle.