Mod+2+-+Maria+W

Maria Wulfers mod 2 Plate Techtonics Boundary Project

Convergent Boundaries Convergent boundaries are when two plates collide head on and the lesser plate whether it is lesser in size or older. Convergent boundaries have three subtypes Oceanic and Continental, Oceanic- oceanic, and Continental. The overlying plate can be pushed up so that it starts forming a mountain. The plate that is pushed down is and melted to form volcanoe material that can eventually make mountains like the Andes, the faults became active twenty- five million years ago when the South American and Nazca Plates collided. Fifty five million years ago India and Asia crashed creating the Himalayas, creating the highest mountain range on the Earth. At ocean convergences the plate that dives can form a trench like the Mariana Trench in the North Pacific, which forms the boundary between the Pacific and Mariana Plate.



Divergent Boundaries Divergent boundaries are where the plates are moving away from one another. Divergent boundaries in the ocean occur when magma rises from the mantle and pushes apart two plates, montains and volcanoes then rise along the seam. This process renews the ocean floor and widens the basins which are a large system that connect the world's oceans. Giant troughs where plates have been pulled apart such as the East African Rift is an example of a divergent boundary. The East African Rift is still in an early age of development because the plate has not been rifted and it is still above sea level. The Red Sea is a moire developed rift for the plates have seperated completely and it has dropped below sea level. the Red Sea has been formed by the splitting of the arabian and African Plates. The Mid- Atlantic Ridge is another divergent boundary it is a high area of seafloor compared to the rest because of a convection current below, it is foud between the North American and African Plate.

Transform Boundaries A transform Boundary is where two plates grind past each other along what are called strike strip- faults. these boundaries cannot form mountains or volcanoes but the halting motion caused by the plates can create an earthquake. The San Andreas fault in California is a fracture zone between the pacific and North American Plates. It is where the two plates met and slide past each other and left a fracture. On April 18, 1906 a 7.8 magnitude earthquake wretched through San Francisco And created the most deadly earthquake in the United States. Landslides, liquifaction, and breakage of utility gas gas lines caused more damage on top of that, thr North American and Pacific Plate made this happen. The alpine fault in New Zealand is a strike- slip fault between the pacific and Australian plate.



 "Geology and Earth Science." //geology.com//. 2005. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. . "Science and Space." //National Geographic//. 1996. Web. 16 Nov. 2009. . "Science and Space: The Dynamic Earth." //National Geographic//. 1996. Web. 17 Nov. 2009.