Download Convergent Plate Boundary

CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARIES


Convergent plate boundaries are
areas where two tectonic plates
are moving toward each other
Will have the most explosive
volcanic and earthquake activity
 Oceanic-Oceanic
 Oceanic-Continental
 Continental-Continental
LITHOSPHERIC PLATES

There are 2 types of lithospheric plates:



Oceanic – Composed of Basalt, more dense
Continental – Composed of Granite, less dense
Subduction – Process where one plate is pushed
underneath another

The denser plate is ALWAYS subducted under the less
dense plate
DEEP SEA TRENCHES

Deep Sea Trenches – Deep depressions in the seafloor



Result from 2 plates converging
Mariana Trench – Deep Sea Trench located near East Asia.
The deepest area in the world (over six miles deep
OCEANIC-OCEANIC CONVERGENT
o
2 oceanic plates come
together
•
•
The denser plate goes
underneath the other
(subduction)
Some of the magma is forced
back to the surface, pushes
through the crust and forms
a volcanic island arc and a
deep sea trench
›
›
Mariana Trench
Aleutian Arc
OCEANIC-CONTINENTAL CONVERGENT
o
o
An oceanic plate and a
continental plate
converge
Results in:
Volcanoes along coast of
the continents
Deep Sea Trench
•
•
o
Example:
•
•
•
•
Mt. St. Helens
Peru-Chile Trench
Andes Mountains
Pacific Ring Of Fire
PACIFIC RING OF FIRE

Pacific Ring Of Fire – Ring
of volcanoes around the
Pacific Ocean
Results from a convergent
plate boundary
 The Cascades in Western
US is included
 Contains the majority of
active volcanoes on Earth

CONTINENTAL-CONTINENTAL CONVERGENT
2 continental plates converge
 The colliding edges of the
continents are uplifted and form
a mountain range (not volcanic)
 Example:


Himalayas