ABSTRACT
The global distribution of continents and oceans demonstrates a double asymmetry of north-south and east-west. The geoid height has a distribution pattern of first-and second-order anomalies. The global active tectonics can be classified into three first-order tectonic systems: the circum-Pacific tectonic system, the mid-ocean ridge tectonic system, and the continental tectonic system of the north hemisphere. They indicate the asymmetry of north-south and east-west as well. The mechanism of the general westward motion of the global plates is presumably associated with the angular velocity differences between crust, mantle and core. These tectonic features of a global scale stem probably from the heterogeneities of the inner structures left by the early evolution of the Earth and from the combined effects of forces with multiple sources.
