The above photo is of the Emporeum and James Flood Building after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (the virtual museum of the City of San Francisco).
What are Convergent Boundaries?
"This Dynamic Earth:
The Story of Plate Tectonics"
By W. Jacuelyne Kious and
Robert I. Tilling
Convergent Boundaries happen when one tectonic plate is sliding under the adjacent tectonic plate. This movement causes upheavals of the plate that is on top as well as creating a trench along the boundaries of the two plates as they move into each other.
The diagram to the left is an example of an oceanic crust moving under a continental crust. The resulting upheaval creates coastal mountain ranges that are often volcanic. Examples of this type of movement is found in along the Pacific Ocean in South America (Peru) and in North America (Oregon, Peru, British Columbia and Alaska).
The diagram to the left is an example of an oceanic crust moving under a continental crust. The resulting upheaval creates coastal mountain ranges that are often volcanic. Examples of this type of movement is found in along the Pacific Ocean in South America (Peru) and in North America (Oregon, Peru, British Columbia and Alaska).
"This Dynamic Earth:
The Story of Plate Tectonics"
By W. Jacuelyne Kious and
Robert I. Tilling
Convergent Boundaries occuring under the ocean can happen between a continental plate and an oceanic plate or between two oceanic plates.
The diagram to the right depicts two plates converging under the ocean surface. Where the two plates converge there would be a trench in the sea floor and the volcanic activity that results would create new islands as the lava builds and the volcanic mountain swells above the ocean surface.
Examples of this type of plate movement can be found in throughout the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Hawaii have been formed (and are continuing to form) through the convergent boundaries of two oceanic plates.
The diagram to the right depicts two plates converging under the ocean surface. Where the two plates converge there would be a trench in the sea floor and the volcanic activity that results would create new islands as the lava builds and the volcanic mountain swells above the ocean surface.
Examples of this type of plate movement can be found in throughout the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Hawaii have been formed (and are continuing to form) through the convergent boundaries of two oceanic plates.
"This Dynamic Earth:
The Story of Plate Tectonics"
By W. Jacuelyne Kious and
Robert I. Tilling
When Convergent Boundaries occur upon a continent, the result is an upheaval of land that results in a high plateau on one side and a mountain range on the other. The high plateau is normally found on the plate that is riding over the other. Whereas the mountain range is found on the side where the plate is diving below the other.
Not all mountain ranges are volcanic in nature. Just because tectonic plates are converging doesn't mean there would be volcanic activity. It can occur, however it is less likely when plates are colliding in the middle of a continent.
Examples of Convergent Boundaries upon a continent are the Rocky Mountains (United States and Canada), the Himalayan Mountains and Ural Mountains in Asia and the Alps in Europe.
For more information about Convergent Boundaries, go to the National Geological Society website by clicking here.
Not all mountain ranges are volcanic in nature. Just because tectonic plates are converging doesn't mean there would be volcanic activity. It can occur, however it is less likely when plates are colliding in the middle of a continent.
Examples of Convergent Boundaries upon a continent are the Rocky Mountains (United States and Canada), the Himalayan Mountains and Ural Mountains in Asia and the Alps in Europe.
For more information about Convergent Boundaries, go to the National Geological Society website by clicking here.
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