Lessons - Plate Tectonics

​Convergent

A convergent plate is when two plates come together,it is known as a convergent boundary.The impact of the colliding plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench.

​A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a plane where many earthquakes occur, called the Wadati–Benioff zone.

​Himalaya Mountains in Central Asia. Western Andes Mountains in South America. Northern Cascade Mountains in the Pacific Northwest America.

​​ ​ What is a convergent plate.

​Divergent

​A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth's mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.

​in plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys. Most active divergent plate boundaries occur between oceanic plates and exist as mid-oceanic ridges.

​Most divergent boundaries are located along mid-ocean oceanic ridges (although some are on land).

​​ What is a divergent boundary?

​Transform

​What is a transform boundary?

​Many transform boundaries are found on the sea floor, where they connect segments of diverging mid-ocean ridges.

​A transform boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move past one another. Shear stress operates at transform boundaries, which involves sliding motion. No lithosphere is destroyed or created, and mountain chains are not built at transform boundaries.

​A transform boundary causes a fault between two plates of the lithosphere, which will slide past one another. This motion does not create or destroy crust and will cause earthquakes, but no volcanoes. A transform boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move past one another.