There are three types of convergent plate boundaries: oceanic-oceanic boundaries, oceanic-continental boundaries, and continental-continental boundaries.

At convergent plate boundaries, oceanic crust is often forced down into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into granite, the rock that makes up the continents. Thus, at convergent boundaries, continental crust is created and oceanic crust is destroyed.

If the two plates that meet at a convergent plate boundary both consist of continental crust, they will smash together and push upwards to create mountains. Large slabs of lithosphere smashing together create large earthquakes. The amazing Himalaya Mountains are the result of this type of convergent plate boundary.

When an ocean plate collides with another ocean plate or with a plate carrying continents, one plate will bend and slide under the other. This process is called subduction. A deep ocean trench forms at this subduction boundary.

They are formed when two plates collide, either crumpling up and forming mountains or pushing one of the plates under the other and back into the mantle to melt. Convergent boundaries form strong earthquakes, as well as volcanic mountains or islands, when the sinking oceanic plate melts.

Examples of ocean-continent convergent boundaries are subduction of the Nazca Plate under South America (which has created the Andes Mountains and the Peru Trench) and subduction of the Juan de Fuca Plate under North America (creating the Cascade Range).

Oceanic-Oceanic Plate Divergence is the divergence of plate boundaries of oceanic plates. One example of a mid-oceanic ridge is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge was formed as the North American Plate and Eurasian Plate diverged, creating a fault.

The most famous example of this is the San Andreas Fault Zone of western North America. The San Andreas connects a divergent boundary in the Gulf of California with the Cascadia subduction zone. Another example of a transform boundary on land is the Alpine Fault of New Zealand.

A transform fault or transform boundary, sometimes called a strike-slip boundary, is a fault along a plate boundary where the motion is predominantly horizontal. It ends abruptly where it connects to another plate boundary, either another transform, a spreading ridge, or a subduction zone.

A transform plate boundary occurs when two plates slide past each other, horizontally. A well-known transform plate boundary is the San Andreas Fault, which is responsible for many of California’s earthquakes. The movement of Earth’s tectonic plates shape the planet’s surface.

Plate Boundaries: Convergent, Divergent, Transform.

There are seven major plates: African, Antarctic, Eurasian, Indo-Australian, North American, Pacific and South American. The Hawaiian Islands were created by the Pacific Plate, which is the world’s largest plate at 39,768,522 square miles.

The two types of tectonic plates are continental and oceanic tectonic plates.

seven

Primary plates

• African plate.
• Antarctic plate.
• Indo-Australian plate.
• North American plate.
• Pacific plate.
• South American plate.
• Eurasian plate.

The Juan de Fuca Plate is the smallest of earth’s tectonic plates. It is approximately 250,000 square kilometers.

There may be scientific consensus as to whether such plates should be considered distinct portions of the crust; thus, new research could change this list.

• African Plate.
• Antarctic Plate.
• Australian Plate.
• Caribbean Plate.
• Cocos Plate.
• Eurasian Plate.
• Nazca Plate.
• North American Plate.