CONVERGENCE OF

TWO CONTINENTAL
PLATES
WHEN TWO CONTINENTAL PLATES CONVERGE, A
COLLISION ZONE IS FORMED.
UNLIKE THE OTHER TWO TYPES OF
CONVERGENT BOUNDARIES, SUBDUCTION
CEASES FOR THIS PARTICULAR TYPE OF
CONVERGENCE.
NO TRENCH, NO VOLCANO, AND DEFINITELY NO
ISLAND ARC ARE CREATED DURING THIS
PROCESS. INSTEAD, WHAT IS CREATED IS A
LARGE GROUP OF MOUNTAINS CALLED
MOUNTAIN RANGE/S
40-50 MILLION YEARS AGO, TWO LARGE LANDMASSES, INDIA
AND EURASIA, COLLIDED WHICH FORMED THE HIMALAYAS.
 ALSO REMEMBER THAT COLLISION OF
CONTINENTAL PLATES IS ASSOCIATED WITH
SHALLOW EARTHQUAKE ACTIVITIES.
DIVERGENCE
OF PLATES
FORMATION OF RIFT VALLEYS AND OCEANIC
RIDGES ARE INDICATIONS THAT THE CRUST IS
SPREADING OR SPLITTING APART.

IN THIS CASE, THE PLATES ARE FORMING

DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES
WHAT IS AN OCEAN RIDGE?

MID OCEAN RIDGE/S IS A

MOUNTAIN SYSTEM FORMED BY
DIVERGING PLATE TECTONICS
UNDER THE OCEAN.

WHAT IS A RIFT VALLEY?

A RIFT VALLEY IS A LOWLAND

REGION THAT FORMS WHEN
PLATE TECTONICS MOVE APART.
WHEN PLATE BOUNDARIES DIVERGE (MOVE AWAY FROM
EACH OTHER) A GAP IS CREATED IN BETWEEN THE
BOUNDARIES.

EVENTUALLY, THIS GAP IS FILLED WITH MOLTEN

MATERIALS COMING FROM THE MANTLE GOING UP.

EVENTUALLY THESE MOLTEN MATERIALS WILL COOL

DOWN WHICH WILL THEN BECOME A NEW CRUST.

AND ONCE THE BOUNDARIES MOVE AGAIN, THIS NEW

CRUST WILL SEPARATE APART AGAIN AND THE MOLTEN
ROCK WILL ONCE AGAIN GO UP UNTIL THEY COOL DOWN
BECOME A NEW CRUST.

THIS PROCESS WILL HAPPEN OVER AND OVER AGAIN

UNTIL OCEAN RIDGES ARE FORMED.
MID-ATLANTIC OCEAN RIDGE IS AN EXAMPLE OF
b
SPREADING CENTER WHICH CAUSES THE
DIVERGENCE OF THE SOUTH AMERICAN PLATE
AND THE AFRICAN PLATE.
TRANSFORM
FAULT
BOUNDARY
 THIS IS CHARACTERIZED BY PLATES MOVING
HORIZONTALLY AGAINST EACH OTHER.

THE FORCE THE PLATES EXERT CAN BREAK THE

ROCKS AND OTHER MATERIALS UNDER THE
GROUND. THE SHAKING USUALLY ENDS
ABRUPTLY.

TRANSFORM FAULT
BOUNDARIES BRING STRONG
EARTHQUAKES!