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Where do tectonic plates separate?
Plates move apart from each other along divergent boundaries. In the ocean basins these boundaries are the mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust forms. Where continents are pulled apart, large gaps, or rift systems, develop. The Great Rift Valley of East Africa is one such rift.
What is it called when tectonic plates split?
Most geologic activity stems from the interplay where the plates meet or divide. The movement of the plates creates three types of tectonic boundaries: convergent, where plates move into one another; divergent, where plates move apart; and transform, where plates move sideways in relation to each other.
What causes plates to seperate?
The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other. This movement is called plate motion, or tectonic shift. That’s because it did, millions of years before tectonic shift separated the two great continents.
Which of the following is part of tectonic plates?
lithosphere
Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth’s crust and uppermost mantle, together referred to as the lithosphere. The plates are around 100 km (62 mi) thick and consist of two principal types of material: oceanic crust (also called sima from silicon and magnesium) and continental crust (sial from silicon and aluminium).
What features appear where plates are separating against each other?
Plates Separate The Mid-Ocean Ridge and rift valleys, such as the one that runs through eastern Africa, occur along boundaries where plates are spreading apart. New oceanic crust is created as the plates separate and molten rock rises up from the mantle and fills the space.
Where are tectonic earthquakes located?
Earthquakes occur along fault lines, cracks in Earth’s crust where tectonic plates meet. They occur where plates are subducting, spreading, slipping, or colliding. As the plates grind together, they get stuck and pressure builds up.
What is the place where tectonic plates meet called?
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What happens when two tectonic plates collide?
There are times when there are more than two tectonic plates that collide in this area. If these two plates are of the same density, they would push against each other. This helps form a mountain. This also explains why most of the examples of convergent boundaries are located near the mountainside.
What are the different types of tectonic plates?
A single tectonic plate can have multiple types of plate boundaries with the other plates that surround it. For instance, the Pacific Plate, one of Earth’s largest tectonic plates, includes convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries. The movement of Earth’s tectonic plates shape the planet’s surface.
Where are plates pulled apart in the world?
Where continents are pulled apart, large gaps, or rift systems, develop. The Great Rift Valley of East Africa is one such rift. In time, it may become like the Red Sea, a more developed rift along which the Arabian and African plates are separating.