What type of plate movement destroys crust

Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. Earthquakes are common along these faults. In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not created or destroyed. Virgin Islands. Home Ocean Exploration Facts What are the different types of plate tectonic boundaries?

What are the different types of plate tectonic boundaries? There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries. One trench is a mile deeper than Mount Everest is tall! As the oceanic plate descends into the mantle some of it melts. This material moves into the mantle above the plate and causes the mantle to melt.

This liquid rock, called magma, rises to the surface because it is less dense then the surrounding rock.

If the magma reaches the surface of the Earth, a volcano forms. As the mantle rocks melt they form magma. The magma collects in a magma pool.

Because the magma is less dense than the surrounding mantle material it will rise. Pressure in the magma cracks the overlying rocks. Then the magma injects into the crack. This process repeats thousands of times, bring the magma towards the surface.

A volcano will form if the magma reaches the surface. When magma does reach the surface it is then called lava. You will learn more about volcanoes in the following lessons. As the volcano erupts it may build a mountain. The lava along with ash and other pyroclastic material will continue to build the mountain higher with each eruption. This is a cross section of the Earth in the Southern Hemisphere. The map shows a subduction zone that has created the Peru-Chile Trench at the western edge of South America.

This subduction zone has produced the Andes Mountains which run along the entire west coast of South America. It also shows you the Mid-Atlantic Ridge which is spreading the Atlantic Ocean making it wider and wider. The cross section shows two processes at work;. The pink lines on this map of the Pacific Ocean represent deep ocean trenches. Home Latest News Video. Debris Flow Dynamics.

Sampling Hot Molten Lava. Incredible moment Anak Krakatau erupts, Oct Download Google Earth For Free. Remote Sensing Downloader. Thunder Egg. Home plate tectonics What are the different types of plate tectonic boundaries? Share on Facebook. This image shows the three main types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform.

Image courtesy of the U. Geological Survey. What are Plate Boundaries? Divergent boundaries: where new crust is generated as the plates pull away from each other. Convergent boundaries: where crust is destroyed as one plate dives under another. Transform boundaries: where crust is neither produced nor destroyed as the plates slide horizontally past each other.

Plate boundary zones: broad belts in which boundaries are not well defined and the effects of plate interaction are unclear. Plate Boundary Types Divergent boundary Constructive. Recommended For You Cold plates and hot melts.