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Three types of plate boundary Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Transform boundary. Tectonic plate interactions are classified into three basic types: [1] Convergent boundaries are areas where plates move toward each other and collide. These are also known as compressional or destructive boundaries.
The North American plate is a tectonic plate containing most of North America, Cuba, the Bahamas, extreme northeastern Asia, and parts of Iceland and the Azores.With an area of 76 million km 2 (29 million sq mi), it is the Earth's second largest tectonic plate, behind the Pacific plate (which borders the plate to the west).
Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary (or fault): convergent, divergent, or transform. The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 10 cm annually.
The Juan de Fuca Ridge is a mid-ocean spreading center and divergent plate boundary located off the coast of the Pacific Northwest region of North America, named after Juan de Fuca. The ridge separates the Pacific Plate to the west and the Juan de Fuca Plate to the east. It runs generally northward, with a length of approximately 500 kilometres ...
Earthquakes are common along convergent boundaries. A region of high earthquake activity, the Wadati–Benioff zone, generally dips 45° and marks the subducting plate. Earthquakes will occur to a depth of 670 km (416 mi) along the Wadati-Benioff margin. [citation needed] Both compressional and extensional forces act along convergent boundaries.
Divergent boundary. Divergent boundaries (constructive boundaries or extensional boundaries). These are where two plates slide apart from each other. At zones of ocean-to-ocean rifting, divergent boundaries form by seafloor spreading, allowing for the formation of new ocean basin, e.g. the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and East Pacific Rise. As the ocean ...
(Click to zoom) See legend below This is the legend for the North American geological map above. Geologic map of North America. The geology of North America is a subject of regional geology and covers the North American continent, the third-largest in the world. Geologic units and processes are investigated on a large scale to reach a ...
Continental-continental divergent/constructive boundary Oceanic divergent boundary: mid-ocean ridge (cross-section/cut-away view). 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.