Plate Tectonics:

Introduction:
1. Two of the forces at work along crustal plate boundaries are
collision and separation.
2. The convergence, divergence and the subsequent features
these forces allow us to identify a number of plate
boundaries.

Collision:
1. The zones where plates collide head-on are called convergent
plate boundaries and, since some of the crust is destroyed,
they are also destructive boundaries.
2. At these boundaries, the older or heavier plate slides beneath
the lighter plate, pushing it downward into the mantle, a
process known as subduction.
3. Destructive plate boundaries occur in three situations; where
two oceanic plates collide, where oceanic and continental
plates collide and where two continental plates collide.
4. Oceanic-oceanic convergent zones are mostly hidden under
the sea with the friction between the plates and the
convection currents pulling the plates along, helped by a slabpull force.
5. A long, deep, narrow ocean trench develops at the point of
subduction, showing a clear correlation between plate
tectonics and the forces at work along convergent plate
boundaries.
6. Continental crust is much lighter than oceanic crust and when
these plates collide, the heavier oceanic plate subducts under
the continental plate.
7. As continental crust is very thick, when two continental
plates converge neither plate is subducted, resulting in the
formation of fold mountains.

8. Plate convergence of this sort occurred when the Indian plate

moved northwards and collided with the Eurasian plate.

Separation:
1. Divergent plate boundaries occur where two or more plates
pull away from each other and, since new crust is created and
the ocean grows wider, they are also constructive boundaries.
2. As thermal convection currents force the plates apart, magma
rises from the mantle and moves up through the newly
formed crack.
3. When the magma reaches the ocean floor it cools and
solidifies into igneous basalt rock and begins to build up.
4. This process of sea-floor spreading results in the formation of
underwater volcanic mountain ranges called mid-ocean
ridges.
5. Studying the forces of diverging plates allows us to calculate
the age of the separation, as the age of the rock increases with
the distance from the point of divergence.
6. Because these mid ocean ridges are formed along plate
boundaries they are connected, forming the longest mountain
range in the world, with a total length of about 60,000km.
7. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs in a north-south direction and
has occurred because of the divergence of the North
American and Eurasian plates.