Plate Tectonics and Boundaries Flashcards
What is a plate boundary?
A region where two tectonic plates are in contact.
Name the three main types of plate interaction.
Convergent
Divergent
Transform
What are plates splitting apart known as?
Diverging Plates.
What causes plates to separate in the ocean?
Sea floor spreading.
What do divergent plate boundaries mark?
The areas where tectonic plates are spreading apart.
Where does a convergent boundary occur?
Areas where tectonic plates collide.
What is a trench?
A deep underwater valley.
How does a trench form?
It forms where tectonic plates make contacts.
What happens to the pieces of melted plate as it subducts deeper?
The rock cools and crystallizes into large rock masses below the surface of the continental plate.
What can the force of collision between oceanic and continental plates create?
Mountain ranges (The continental rock crumples and folds.)
What happens when there is too much energy and pressure built when the plates are stuck in place?
An earthquake happens.
What kind of boundary produces volcanic island arcs?
Convergent.
What happens when two continental plates collide?
Mountain ranges are formed instead of subduction.
Where do transform boundaries often occur?
Near ocean ridges.
Define faults.
Breaks in rock layers due to movement on either side.
