Plate Boundary "Cheat Sheet"
Essential Question: What is the evidence of the location and
movement of tectonic plates?
To see animations of each of the plate boundaries (or to get more information), go HERE!
**Things to keep in mind:
● Continental plates are less dense than oceanic plates, so oceanic plates
ALWAYS subduct under continental in convergent boundaries.
● Ocean plates are equal density, but eventually one subducts under the other in a
convergent boundary (usually the older one).
Transform Boundary: (sliding)
●
No clear land features
●
Shallow earthquakes, fairly scattered
●
Few volcanoes
Divergent Boundaries: (2 types)—(Dividing)
Oceanic Plates:
●
Ridge forming along divergent boundary that falls off in elevation to either
side.
●
Earthquakes in a line on the boundary, volcanoes
Continental Plates:
●
Earthquakes and volcanoes along the boundary
●
May form a rift valley
●
Sea formation
Convergent Boundaries: (3 types)—(Colliding)
Continental-Continental:
●
Mountains at collision boundary
●
Scattered earthquakes that are shallow to intermediate in depth
●
Few, if any, volcanoes
Oceanic-Oceanic:
●
One plate subducts (gets pushed under) other.
●
Island arcs (in an arc shape) form on overriding plate
●
Subduction plate forms a trench on overriding plate
●
Earthquakes
Oceanic-Continental:
●
Ocean plate subducts (gets pushed under) continental plate.
●
Volcanoes and mountains in a line on continental side, trench off-shore on
oceanic side.