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This guide explores the three main types of plate movement that shape our planet's landscape. Divergent movement, or seafloor spreading, occurs where plates separate, such as at mid-ocean ridges. Convergent movement leads to plate collisions, forming mountains like the Himalayas when continental plates collide. Subduction, a specific type of convergent movement, occurs when an oceanic plate plunges beneath a continental plate, creating deep trenches like the Mariana Trench. Transform movement involves plates sliding past each other, exemplified by the San Andreas Fault.
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Plates on the Move Guide to plate movement
1. Divergent • Also known as seafloor spreading • Plates are separating from each other as a new land mass forms • This is seen at mid-ocean ridges and rifts • Plate separation is a slow process. For example, divergence along the Mid Atlantic ridge causes the Atlantic Ocean to widen at only about 2 centimeters per year. Picture from www.geology.com Author Hobart M. King
2. Convergent • Two continental plates collide. & crumple the edges of the plates & form mountains. • We can see the end result of the collision between the Indian & Eurasian plates which are the Himalayan Mountains. Picture from USGS Picture from www.geology.com Author Hobart M. King
Subduction • When an oceanic plate goes underneath or is subducted under a continental plate it is called subduction. • This forms a trench, or deep valley, where the plates meet. • An example of a subduction zone is the Marianas Trench where the Pacific Plate is subducting under the Eurasian Plate. • Subduction is another type of a convergent plate movement. Picture from www.geology.com Author Hobart M. King
3. Transform • Two plates slide past each other • Example: San Andreas Fault in California Picture from www.geology.com Author Hobart M. King
Transform Convergent Divergent