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There are three main types of plate boundaries on the earth; convergent, divergent, and transform boundaries. The boundary that usually causes earthquakes is transform boundaries. A major transform boundary is the San Andreas fault in California. The San Andreas fault is the most well known fault in america. A transform boundary is where 2 plates grind past each other. All plates move very slow, but with a lot of force. An earthquake happens when 2 plates at a transform boundary get hung up, or stuck on something, and pressure builds over time. Then It suddenly lets loose again, It quickly jerks and creates an earthquake, such as the san francisco earthquake in 1906. That was caused by the san andreas fault. Those are called strike-slip faults Another boundary is called a convergent boundary. These boundaries are the ones that forms very large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas.The himalayan mountain range holds the highest peak in the world. Mountains form when 2 land plates collide, and one plate goes above the other. So, the himalayas are still growing about an inch per year. The indian and eurasian plate come together to form the himalayas. Convergent boundaries can also form very deep trenches such as the Mariana trench in the North pacific ocean, which is the deepest point in the world. The plates that form the mariana trench are the mariana plate and the pacific plate Underwater trenches form when a plate dives below another and the plate that dives turns into magma once it gets deep enough, and the result is a deep ocean trench. These plates also form underwater volcanoes. Such as the ones that form the hawaiian islands, off the coast of California. Convergent boundaries form the andes mountains in south america, and they are formed from the Nasca and South American plate. The last plate boundary is a divergent boundary. In divergent boundaries, underground magma forces plates upward and can also creates mountains and volcanoes along the seam of the two plates. This process lets magma in to the ocean to renew the ocean floor. This also makes the basins wider. Places such as the Great Rift Valley, which is in africa. The african and Arabian plate form the valley. These form where plates are pulled in the opposite direction. There is also the great crack in Hawaii where the plates come together to form this. There is another place that holds very large mountains. This is called the mid ocean ridge. This is located on the pacific ocean and consists of the following plates: the African, Eurasian, North American, and the South American plate. "Plate Tectonics." //National Geographic//. National geographic, n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

"Himalaya." //Himalayas//. n.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2009. .

Shaw, Cindy.2005. McGraw Hill Higher Education. //Science-Art //. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. <[]>. //Divergent Boundaries //. Riverdell Schools. //Plate Dynamics Laboratory Exercises //. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. <[]>. //transform Boundary //. //Nature Gallery (Earth) //. Web. 4 Nov. 2009. <[]>.