What are Some Different Types of Tectonic Plate Boundaries?
Tectonic plates are large, disconnected chunks of the Earth’s crust, floating on the mantle below, composed of soft magma. Tectonic plates vary greatly in thickness depending on whether they are oceanic (about 5 km or 3 mi) or continental (about 50 km or 30 mi). Continental crust generally consists of lighter rocks, while oceanic crust consists of heavier rocks. This means that when an oceanic tectonic plate collides with a continental plate, it certain to slip under, or be subducted by, the continental plate. There are three main types of tectonic plate boundaries, described in terms of the way that tectonic plates move relative to each other. These include transform boundaries, where plates grind parallel to each other, divergent boundaries, where plates are moving apart, and convergent boundaries, where plates press into and sometimes under each other. These plate boundaries result in faults, rift valleys, oceanic ridges, oceanic trenches, mountains, island arcs, subduction zones, v
