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Continental crust is less dense and cooler than oceanic crust and less dense and cooler than the asthenosphere, therefore instead of subducting, it is pushed upward in a collision between continents, or floats over a subducting oceanic crust.

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Why is oceanic crust always subducted underneath the continental crust?

Oceanic crust is denser and thinner than continental crust, making it more likely to be subducted beneath the less dense continental crust. This process occurs because the denser oceanic crust is pulled downward into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries due to gravitational forces. The subduction of oceanic crust beneath continental crust helps to recycle Earth's materials and plays a key role in plate tectonics and the geologic cycle.


What happens when a plate of oceanic crust collides with a plate of the continental crust and why does this happen?

When oceanic crust collides with continental crust, the denser oceanic crust is forced beneath the continental crust in a process called subduction. This happens because oceanic crust is heavier, colder, and more dense than continental crust, making it susceptible to being subducted under the lighter continental crust. This collision can result in the formation of mountain ranges, volcanic arcs, and deep ocean trenches.


What forms from collision of continental crust and oceanic crust?

A basic mountain should be formed from the collision of continental crust and oceanic crustAnswerWhen an oceanic and a continental crust collide, the heavier oceanic crust tends to subduct under the lighter continental crust. Because of the collision and corresponding compression and also because of volcanism related to dehydration and melting of the subducted plate a mountain range is formed. The Andes mountain range is a, if not the, most typical example.


Why is ocean crust subducted under continental crust?

The oceanic crust is denser


Oceanic crust slides under continental crust during subduction because oceanic crust is .?

denser (Apex)

Related Questions

What do one oceanic and one continental crust produce when the oceanic crust is subducted under the continental one?

A trench and a strata volcano.


When does a plate carrying continental crust converges with a plate carrying oceanic crust?

When a plate carrying continental crust converges with a plate carrying oceanic crust, the denser oceanic plate is typically subducted beneath the less dense continental plate. This can lead to the formation of volcanic arcs and deep ocean trenches.


What is likely to form where oceanic crust is subducted under continental crust?

Where oceanic crust is subducted under continental crust, a trench, volcanic arc, and earthquakes are likely to form. The subduction of the dense oceanic plate causes it to sink beneath the less dense continental plate, leading to the creation of these geological features due to the intense heat and pressure generated in the process.


Why is oceanic crust always subducted underneath the continental crust?

Oceanic crust is denser and thinner than continental crust, making it more likely to be subducted beneath the less dense continental crust. This process occurs because the denser oceanic crust is pulled downward into the mantle at convergent plate boundaries due to gravitational forces. The subduction of oceanic crust beneath continental crust helps to recycle Earth's materials and plays a key role in plate tectonics and the geologic cycle.


When a more dense oceanic plate sinks under continental plate?

This is called a destructive plate boundary. It occurs due to the fact that the oceanic crust is far denser than the continental crust. As a result it subducts into the mantle and is incenerated. Hope it helped:)


What happens when a plate of oceanic crust collides with a plate of the continental crust and why does this happen?

When oceanic crust collides with continental crust, the denser oceanic crust is forced beneath the continental crust in a process called subduction. This happens because oceanic crust is heavier, colder, and more dense than continental crust, making it susceptible to being subducted under the lighter continental crust. This collision can result in the formation of mountain ranges, volcanic arcs, and deep ocean trenches.


What type plate margin are ocean trenches associated with?

Convergent plate margins where oceanic crust is being subducted under continental crust.


Why is the oceanic plate subducted when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate?

The Oceanic plate is subducted under the Continental plate because oceanic crust is much more dense than continental crust. The average density of the oceanic crust is 3g/cm^3 while the average density of continental crust is 2.7g/cm^3.


What occures when a continental and oceanic plate collide?

At some convergent boundaries, an oceanic plate collides with acontinental plate. Oceanic crust tends to be denser and thinner thancontinentalcrust, so the denser oceanic crust gets bent and pulled under, or subducted, beneath the lighter and thicker continental crust. This forms what is called a subduction zone.


What is oceanic-oceanic subduction?

Oceanic crust sinking under a plate with continental crust


How do the oceanic and continental crust differ?

Because the oceanic crust is under water in the ocean and a continental crust is land such as the continents


Why does the oceanic sink beneath continental crust at convergent boundaries?

The continental crust is less dense than the oceanic crust. That's the reason we find that the oceanic crust sinks (subducts) beneath the continental crust.Continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust and so cannot sink below it.