There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate Anatomy of an Earthquake
boundaries.
This image shows the three main types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and
transform. Image courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey. Download image (jpg, 76 KB).
The Earth’s lithosphere, which includes the crust and upper mantle, is made up of a series of pieces,
or tectonic plates, that move slowly over time.
A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these
boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the
Although the ground beneath us seems solid, it’s actually in constant motion. We usually don’t
surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent
plate boundaries. see it, but we can experience it through earthquakes.
When two plates come together, it is known as a convergent boundary. The impact of the colliding Earth's crust is broken up into irregular pieces called tectonic plates. These large pieces of crust
plates can cause the edges of one or both plates to buckle up into a mountain ranges or one of the were formed by the combination of gravity and rising heat from Earth's core. There are seven
plates may bend down into a deep seafloor trench. A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to
major plates and many smaller ones, all moving in relation to each other. The lithosphere refers
convergent plate boundaries and powerful earthquakes are common along these boundaries.
The Pacific Ring of Fire is an example of a convergent plate boundary. to the crust and upper mantle that make up these plates.
At convergent plate boundaries, oceanic crust is often forced down into the mantle where it begins to As tectonic plates move past each other along fault zones, they sometimes get stuck. Pressure
melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into granite, the rock that makes up builds, and when the plates finally give and slip, energy is released as seismic waves, causing the
the continents. Thus, at convergent boundaries, continental crust is created and oceanic crust is ground to shake. This is an earthquake.
destroyed.
The focus is the place inside Earth’s crust where an earthquake originates. The point on the
Two plates sliding past each other forms a transform plate boundary. One of the most famous
transform plate boundaries occurs at the San Andreas fault zone, which extends underwater. Natural Earth’s surface directly above the focus is the epicenter. When energy is released at the focus,
or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are offset — split into pieces and carried seismic waves travel outward from that point in all directions. There are different types of
in opposite directions. Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, creating seismic waves, each one traveling at varying speeds and motions. It's these waves that you feel
a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. Earthquakes are common along these faults. In contrast to
during an earthquake.
convergent and divergent boundaries, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not
created or destroyed.
The Earth has three different layers to it. The crust is the part of the Earth right on top
where people live. The crust is subdivided into two types, oceanic and continental.
Oceanic crust
Oceanic crust is found under oceans, and it is about four miles thick in most places. A
feature unique to oceanic crust is that there are areas known as mid-ocean ridges
where oceanic crust is still being created. Magma shoots up through gaps in the
ocean’s floor here. As it cools, it hardens into new rock, which forms brand new
segments of oceanic crust. Since oceanic crust is heavier than continental crust, it is
constantly sinking and moving under continental crust.
Continental crust
Continental crust varies between six and 47 miles in thickness depending on where it is
found. Continental crust tends to be much older than the oceanic kind, and rocks
found on this kind of crust are often the oldest in the world. Examples of such rocks are
those in Quebec, Canada which are estimated to be about 4 billion years old.
