Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Convergent boundaries are areas where plates move toward each other and collide. These are also known as compressional or destructive boundaries. Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This ...
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.
Map showing Earth's principal tectonic plates and their boundaries in detail. These plates comprise the bulk of the continents and the Pacific Ocean.For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi)
Fold mountains form in areas of thrust tectonics, such as where two tectonic plates move towards each other at convergent plate boundary.When plates and the continents riding on them collide or undergo subduction (that is – ride one over another), the accumulated layers of rock may crumple and fold like a tablecloth that is pushed across a table, particularly if there is a mechanically weak ...
Trenches, along with volcanic arcs and Wadati–Benioff zones (zones of earthquakes under a volcanic arc) are diagnostic of convergent plate boundaries and their deeper manifestations, subduction zones. [2] [3] [11] Here, two tectonic plates are drifting into each other at a rate of a few millimeters to over 10 centimeters (4 in) per year.
A mid-ocean ridge (MOR) is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about 2,600 meters (8,500 ft) and rises about 2,000 meters (6,600 ft) above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary. The rate of seafloor spreading ...
All volcanic eruptions in Iceland, such as the 1973 eruption of Eldfell, the 1783 eruption of Laki and the 2010 eruption of Eyjafjallajökull, are caused by the North American and the Eurasian plates moving apart, which is a result of divergent plate boundary forces. The convergent boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Indian plate formed ...
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.