PLATE

TECTONICS
Plate Boundaries
1. Divergent (Constructive)
2. Convergent (Destructive)
3. Transform (Conservative /
Passive)

Jennifer Walsh
Plate Tectonics Plate Tectonics

Learning Objectives

You will be able to:

 Understand what happens at plate margins and give
specific examples.
Landforms associated with plate margins Plate Tectonics

• The importance of plate tectonic theory is that it explains the location of volcanoes, earthquakes and fold
mountains. It is at the boundaries/margins of plates that most activity takes place. Here, rock and structures
are created and destroyed as plates separate, collide and slide past each other.
Plate Margins Plate Tectonics
• There are three types of plate boundary:
1. Divergent
2. Convergent
3. Transform
Plate Margins Plate Tectonics

1. Divergent (constructive) boundary

(Divide)
Plates separate and move apart from one another. As new crust is formed they are also known as
constructive margins.

subduction

2. Convergent (destructive) boundary

(Collide)
Plates collide. As crust is destroyed they are also known as destructive plate margins.

3. Transform (passive) boundary

This is where two plates slide past each other. Crust is neither created nor destroyed.
Plate Margins Plate Tectonics
Recap!

• Open the link below to refresh your knowledge on plate

boundaries around the world. When you have finished, Plates on the Move
you can move on to the “Plates on the Move” game. Game

https://www.learner.org/wp-content/interactive/ https://www.amnh.org/explore/ology/earth/pl
ates-on-the-move2/game
dynamicearth/platesboundarieschallenge/
1. Divergent Plate Boundaries (Constructive) Plate Tectonics
• Divergent boundaries are found where plates are moving apart. As new crust
is formed, they are also known as constructive plate margins. Landforms:
Rift Valley
Processes that occur: Mid-Ocean Ridge
New Seas
1. The thermal convection currents in the mantle
are moving in opposite directions.
2. This causes the plates to be pushed apart.
3. The crust at the edge of both plates is
weakened.
4. Magma forces its way up to fill the gap.
5. As it solidifies, it forces the plates apart even
further.
6. In this way, new crust is formed at the plate
edges.
7. Over millions of years, continuous separating
and filling have created the ocean floors. This is
known as sea-floor spreading.
8. As the process is ongoing, gentle volcanoes and
earthquakes are common.
 1. Divergent Plate Boundaries (Constructive) Plate Tectonics
Processes that occur (Continued):

9. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a submerged mountain range

running from the North Pole to the South Pole is the
best example of a constructive boundary.
10. In the North Atlantic, the Eurasian plate is moving to the
East and the North-American plate is moving to the
West.
11. The rate of separation is 2.5cm per year.
12. As a result, the Atlantic Ocean is gradually getting wider.
13. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge breaks through the ocean
surface as volcanic islands. E.g. Iceland (has over 200
volcanoes).
14. In East Africa, the same process is occurring. The African
plate is splitting apart.
15. Rising currents of magma are causing the crust to
fracture.
16. Rifts, or cracks begin to open. This is called a rift valley.
17. As a result, the Arabian Peninsula has split from Africa, When a continental plate breaks up, rift valleys and new
opening up the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. seas are the result
1. Divergent Plate Boundaries (Constructive) Plate Tectonics

National
Geographic
Rift Valley Resource

GeoFact!
Australia and
New Zealand
were part of the https://education.n
same plate until it ationalgeographic.o
broke up (rifted)
rg/resource/rift-vall
ey
and New Zealand
floated away. The African plate is in the process of breaking up
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive) Plate Tectonics

• Convergent boundaries are where

plates collide. As a result, one plate is Ridge-push forces cause two plates to pull
forced down under the other. The plate apart on the surface.
that is older and heavier will slowly Slab-pull forces pull the plates down.
slide under the younger, lighter plate,
aided by slab-pull. This processes is
called subduction. As the plates collide,
crust is destroyed. Therefore, they are
also known as destructive boundaries.

• There are three main types of

convergent plate boundaries:

A. Oceanic-oceanic convergence
B. Oceanic-continental convergence Slab pull is a force that results from denser oceanic plates sinking
C. Continental-continental convergence beneath less dense continental plates along convergent boundaries
and subduction zones. The gravitation force of the sinking oceanic
plate drags the rest of the oceanic plate along with the portion
experiencing slab pull.
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive) Plate Tectonics
A. Oceanic-oceanic convergence
• When two oceanic plates collide, the older, heavier plate bends and sinks beneath the younger, lighter plate.
• This process is known as subduction.
Landforms:
• A long, deep ocean trench develops at the point of subduction.
Island Arc
• The descending plate heats up and is melted as it sinks into the aesthenosphere. Ocean Trench
• The melting produces magma and releases water trapped in the subducted plate.
• This results in volcanic activity.
• These active volcanoes have built up on the ocean
floors over millions of years until they appear above
the surface as volcanic island arcs. E.g. Japan, & The
Philippines (Japan is a result of collision between
the Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate).
• Many of these islands are active volcanoes today.
• Trenches are also marked by strong earthquakes due
to the stresses that are released as the plate slides
into the aesthenosphere. Example: Japan Trench &
The Philippine Trench
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive) Plate Tectonics

Quick Search!
Find 5 – 10 facts about Mariana Trench

Long way down: Mariana Trench

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2tm40uMhDI

Mariana Trench: In Pursuit of the Abyss

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoEVezcE0k0
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive ) Plate Tectonics
B. Oceanic-continental convergence
• When an oceanic and a continental plate collide, great pressure is created on the edge of each plate.
• The oceanic crust is denser and heavier. This causes it to sink down into the mantle.
• This process is known as subduction. Landforms:
• A deep, ocean trench will form at the point of subduction. Fold Mountains
• As the oceanic plate is being subducted, there is great strain and pressure. Ocean Trench
Volcanoes
• Violent volcanic and earthquake activity is common along this boundary.
• The stresses resulting from the
collision cause the edge of the
continental place to buckle and
push up to form mountains.
• Off the coast of South America,
the Nazca plate and the South
American plate are in collision.
The Nazca plate is being subducted
under the South American plate,
resulting in the formation of the
Chile Trench and the uplift of the
Andes Mountains.
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive ) Plate Tectonics
A. Oceanic-continental convergence
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive ) Plate Tectonics
C. Continental-continental convergence
• This is where two continental plates collide.
• Neither of the two plates are subducted because they are both light and resist downward Landforms:
movement. Fold Mountains
• Instead, the edges of both plates cause the crust to buckle and push upwards. Plateau
• This leads to the formation of mountains,
• The stresses also result in earthquakes.
• This type of convergence occurred when the
Indo-Australian plate moved northwards and
collided with the Eurasian plate.
• After the initial collision, the two plates
continued to drive into one another.
• Over millions of years, this has pushed
the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau
to their present heights.
• The Himalayas were and are continuing
to form at a rate of about 3cm per year.
A plateau is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is
raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side.
2. Convergent Plate Boundaries (Destructive ) Plate Tectonics
C. Continental-continental convergence

Tibetan Plateau in the foreground with the Himalayas in the

background
3. Transform Plate Boundaries (Passive) Landforms:
Plate Tectonics
Fault-Line
1. This is where two plates slide horizontally past each other.
2. The line along which the plates slide is called a fault.
3. At a transform plate boundary, no new plate is formed nor is any old plate destroyed. Therefore, these boundaries are
called passive boundaries.
4. As a passive boundary, plates may move in the opposite direction or in the same direction; however, the movement is not
smooth due to friction between the rocks of the two plates.
5. The plates may get stuck and lock together for decades. This leads to enormous build-up of pressure.
6. Then the plates finally slip again, one or both
plates suddenly jerk forwards.
7. Violent earthquake activity is common in
these regions.
8. The most famous example of this is the San
Andreas fault in California.
9. Here, the Pacific plate and the North-American
plate move parallel to each other.
10. Both plates are moving in the same direction,
but not at the same speed.
11. The Pacific plate is moving faster by a rate of
about 5cm per year.
3. Transform Plate Boundaries (Passive) Plate Tectonics

Satellite image of a transform fault. The plates have moved a distance of over 4km.
Key Words Plate Tectonics
Exam Questions Plate Tectonics
Exam Questions Plate Tectonics
Exam Questions Plate Tectonics