Table of Contents
Which type of plate boundary causes the plates to grow larger?
convergent boundary
At a convergent boundary where both plates are continental, mountain ranges grow and earthquakes are common.
What plate boundary has spreading?
divergent plate boundaries
Seafloor spreading occurs at divergent plate boundaries. As tectonic plates slowly move away from each other, heat from the mantle’s convection currents makes the crust more plastic and less dense. The less-dense material rises, often forming a mountain or elevated area of the seafloor.
Do plates grow?
There are usually two growth plates in each long bone. They add length and width to the bone. As kids grow, the growth plates harden into solid bone. A growth plate that has completely hardened into solid bone is a closed growth plate.
How do tectonic plates grow in size?
Continents grow when new crust attaches at subduction zones, locations where a tectonic plate subducts, or sinks back into the mantle. Often, this new crust arrives as small fragments, called micro-continents, or volcanic island chains.
What are the different types of plate boundaries?
There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.
Which is the most famous transform plate boundary?
One of the most famous transform plate boundaries occurs at the San Andreas fault zone, which extends underwater. Natural or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are offset—split into pieces and carried in opposite directions.
Where does a divergent plate boundary occur in the ocean?
Divergent plate boundaries are locations where plates are moving away from one another. This occurs above rising convection currents. When a divergent boundary occurs beneath oceanic lithosphere, the rising convection current below lifts the lithosphere, producing a mid-ocean ridge.
How does the shape of a plate boundary affect the Earth?
The Changing Shape of the Earth. Each type of plate boundary generates distinct geologic processes and landforms. At divergent boundaries, plates separate, forming a narrow rift valley. Here, geysers spurt super-heated water, and magma, or molten rock, rises from the mantle and solidifies into basalt, forming new crust.