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What is the difference between the oceanic crust and continental crust and how does this influence plate boundary interactions?
When two plates move towards one another, they form either a subduction zone or a continental collision. This depends on the nature of the plates involved. In a subduction zone, the subducting plate, which is normally a plate with oceanic crust, moves beneath the other plate, which can be made of either oceanic or continental crust. During collisions between two continental plates, large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas are formed. Oceanic crust is a type of crust that is submerged in huge bodies of water, while continental crust is the type of crust beneath the continents. Oceanic crust is thinner but denser, while the continental crust is thicker but lighter. Whenever a continental crust and an oceanic crust meets and collides, they form a convergence zone. The oceanic crust sinks below the continental crust(subduction zone) because it is denser. As it sinks into the mantle, it becomes magma which soon rises up to the surface to stabilize the mantle, thus creating a volcano. The continental crust, being the lighter one, does not sink. It may fold and form mountains. The nature of a convergent boundary depends on the type of lithosphere in the plates that are colliding. Where a dense oceanic plate collides with a less-dense continental plate, the oceanic plate is typically thrust underneath because of the greater buoyancy of the continental lithosphere, forming a subduction zone. At the surface, the topographic expression is commonly an oceanic trench on the ocean side and a mountain range on the continental side. An example of a continental-oceanic subduction zone is the area along the western coast of South America where the oceanic Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the continental South American Plate.
How do internal and external forces affect mountains?
They will move the tectonic plates underground, which then will create an earthquake or avalanche. That will definitely take an edge off the side of the mountain.
How are plate tectonics related to the formation of mountains?
When tectonic plates are pushed against each other this creates pressure between them, causing the rocks that they are made of to deform and push up to form mountains. An example of this is the pressure between India and the rest of Asia which formed the Himalayas.
What is the Continental Divide of us?
It is an irregular division of the US between the western side and the eastern side, and it is much closer to the Pacific coast. It is the point at which some rivers flow east and others flow west. On the Pacific side the rivers flow west or north or south. On the Atlantic side the rivers flow north or south or east. The continental divide is roughly contiguous with the Rocky Mountains.
Where is each type of plate boundary present?
-Transform boundaries occur where plates slide or, perhaps more accurately, grind past each other along transform faults. The relative motion of the two plates is either sinistral (left side toward the observer) or dextral (right side toward the observer). The San Andreas Fault in California is one example. -Divergent boundaries occur where two plates slide apart from each other. Mid-ocean ridges (e.g., Mid-Atlantic Ridge) and active zones of rifting (such as Africa's Great Rift Valley) are both examples of divergent boundaries. -Convergent boundaries (or active margins) occur where two plates slide towards each other commonly forming either a subduction zone (if one plate moves underneath the other) or a continental collision (if the two plates contain continental crust). Deep marine trenches are typically associated with subduction zones. The subducting slab contains many hydrous minerals, which release their water on heating; this water then causes the mantle to melt, producing volcanism. Examples of this are the Andes mountain range in South America and the Japanese island arc.
Do mountains build up near the centre of plates?
No. Mountains are formed when the end of tectonic plates collide pushing one side up or both.
Are the plates at both sides of Mid-Atlantic Ridge continental or oceanic?
Plates on either side of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are oceanic plates.
How did the continental divide form?
As the North American tectonic plate pushes west into the Pacific and Juan de Fuca plates, the boundaries converge, pushing the land higher and higher. Where the rivers move west on one side and east on the other, there lies the continental divide
The type of collision that occurs when two lithospheric plates converge is determined primarily by plate?
the convergent boundry type is determined by the types of plates. There are Continent - continent plates converging this forms mountains. Then there a Oceanic crust and continental crust colisions which form subduction zones and volcanic activity on the continents side. Lastly there are Ocean - Ocean plate collisions where the hotter and younger ocean floor obducts onto the older floor.
How does continental drift support plate tectonics?
continental drift and plate tectonics are two side of a coin. As the continents are interlinked with the plates; so as the plate moved due to conviction current the continents also tends to move causing continental drift. Moment of plates due to conviction current or due to the adjacent plate is called plate tectonics.
What does the continental divide mean?
The continental divide is an imaginary line that separates the direction in which water flows on the North American continent. Water on one side of the divide flows towards one ocean, while water on the other side flows towards a different ocean.
What is the difference between the oceanic crust and continental crust and how does this influence plate boundary interactions?
When two plates move towards one another, they form either a subduction zone or a continental collision. This depends on the nature of the plates involved. In a subduction zone, the subducting plate, which is normally a plate with oceanic crust, moves beneath the other plate, which can be made of either oceanic or continental crust. During collisions between two continental plates, large mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas are formed. Oceanic crust is a type of crust that is submerged in huge bodies of water, while continental crust is the type of crust beneath the continents. Oceanic crust is thinner but denser, while the continental crust is thicker but lighter. Whenever a continental crust and an oceanic crust meets and collides, they form a convergence zone. The oceanic crust sinks below the continental crust(subduction zone) because it is denser. As it sinks into the mantle, it becomes magma which soon rises up to the surface to stabilize the mantle, thus creating a volcano. The continental crust, being the lighter one, does not sink. It may fold and form mountains. The nature of a convergent boundary depends on the type of lithosphere in the plates that are colliding. Where a dense oceanic plate collides with a less-dense continental plate, the oceanic plate is typically thrust underneath because of the greater buoyancy of the continental lithosphere, forming a subduction zone. At the surface, the topographic expression is commonly an oceanic trench on the ocean side and a mountain range on the continental side. An example of a continental-oceanic subduction zone is the area along the western coast of South America where the oceanic Nazca Plate is being subducted beneath the continental South American Plate.
What is caused when plates collide into each other?
When plates are actually coming towards each other, there can be two different boundaries: collision and destructive boundaries. In a collision boundary, there are earthquakes, and fold mountains are created from the plates pushing up against each other, like the Himalayas. When there is a destructive boundary, like the Eurasian and Pacific plates, the oceanic plate slides underneath the continental plate, being destroyed and causing earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. There are two other types of boundaries: conservative, where plates slide past each other, and constructive, where plates move away from each other.
What features are made at each of the 4 types of plate boundaries?
A Destructive (Convergent) boundary where an oceanic and a continental plate meet. As the oceanic plate is more dense it is subducted, meaning it is forced underneath the other plate. Fold mountains and volcanoes can be found here and earthquakes are also common because of friction between the two plates. A Constructive (Divergent) boundary where two plates move apart. The gap between them is filled with magma from the mantle. This creates new land and is possibly how iceland was formed. Tectonic activity is high. A Conservative (Transform) boundary where two plates pass side by side in the sam eor opposite direction. As a result of the plates getting stuck as they pass each other earthquakes both large and small are common such as on the San Andreas fault. A collision boundary is where two plates of the same type collide. As they are of equal density none can be subducted. Over time the pressure against each other can cause the plates to move up forming mountains.
How tall will the Rocky Mountains be in one million years?
Taller than the Mt. Everest because the tectonic plates on the east side of the worlds are moving slower than the plates on the west (where the Rockies are located) the plates are going to push up taller than Everest.
Name each types of boundary: Ocean Ocean, Continental Continental, Ocean Continental?
Convergent boundaries , where two plates are moving toward each other, are of three types, depending on the type of crust present on either side of the boundary — oceanic or continental . The types are ocean-ocean, ocean-continent, and continent-continent.
How was rocky mountains formed?
The Rocky Mountains were formed by the collision of tectonic plates, the North American plate and the Pacific plate. When they collided, rock on each side was forced upwards or downwards. So rocks came up out of the ground on the west side of the North American Plate.
