This feature forms as magma escapes into the space between the spreading tectonic plates. A divergent plate boundary often forms a mountain chain known as a ridge. One such chain of volcanoes can be found on the western coast of the United States, spanning across the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. When subduction occurs, a chain of volcanoes often develops near the convergent plate boundary. These trenches are some of the deepest places in the ocean, and they are often the sites of strong earthquakes. When this process occurs in the ocean, an trench"> ocean trench can form. ![]() This process, called “subduction,” involves an older, denser tectonic plate being forced deep into the planet underneath a younger, less-dense tectonic plate. ![]() In some cases, however, a convergent plate boundary can result in one tectonic plate diving underneath another. Typically, a convergent plate boundary-such as the one between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate-forms towering mountain ranges, like the Himalaya, as Earth’s crust is crumpled and pushed upward. Each of these types of plate boundaries is associated with different geological features. For example, sections of Earth’s crust can come together and collide (a “convergent” plate boundary), spread apart (a “divergent” plate boundary), or slide past one another (a “transform” plate boundary). There are many different types of plate boundaries. Volcanoes are also often found near plate boundaries because molten rock from deep within Earth-called magma-can travel upward at these intersections between plates. When Earth’s tectonic plates grind past one another, enormous amounts of energy can be released in the form of earthquakes. Plate boundaries are important because they are often associated with earthquakes and volcanoes. That is because its outer surface is composed of about 20 tectonic plates, enormous sections of Earth’s crust that roughly fit together and meet at places called plate boundaries. National Park Service lands contain not only active examples of all types of plate boundaries and hotspots, but also rock layers and landscapes that reveal plate-tectonic activity that occurred in the distant past.In some ways, Earth resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle. Transform plate boundaries are where plates slide laterally past one another, producing shallow earthquakes but little or no volcanic activity.Īnother large-scale feature is a hotspot, where a plate rides over a rising plume of hot mantle, creating a line of volcanoes on top of the plate.At a convergent plate boundary, one plate dives (“subducts”) beneath the other, resulting in a variety of earthquakes and a line of volcanoes on the overriding plate.Plates rip apart at a divergent plate boundary, causing volcanic activity and shallow earthquakes.There are three types of tectonic plate boundaries: The landscapes of our national parks, as well as geologic hazards such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, are due to the movement of the large plates of Earth’s outer shell. Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Active subduction along the southern Alaska coast has formed a volcanic arc with features including the Katmai caldera and neighboring Mount Griggs.
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