PLATE BOUNDARY REVIEW

Ocean crust tends to sink under lithospheric (land) crust because...

It is more dense. The water that sits on top of the oceanic crust squeezes the crust, making it more dense

Why do islands form in a chain along convergent boundaries?

When one plate subducts below the other, it's pushed into the mantle and melts. The melted rock builds gases, heat, steam and pressure that can eventually explode. If this happens enough over time, the lava will build an island that comes all the way up out of the water.

The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Ridge is an example of an ocean ridge at a _____ _____.

divergent boundary

What is a fault line?

Area along plate boundaries where the crust of the lithosphere is fractured (cracked)

What is a subduction zone?

Area where a plate sinks into the mantle (asthenosphere) under another plate.

What is a divergent boundary?

Area where tectonic plates are moving away from each other.

What is a convergent boundary?

Area where tectonic plates collide and push into each other.

What is a transform boundary?

Area where tectonic plates slide sideways past each other.

Which of the following convergent boundaries would most likely create a non-volcanic mountain range?

continental/continental

A transform boundary occurs where two tectonic plates _____.

grind against each other as they slide in opposite directions

When two oceanic plates collide, it creates _____.

ocean trenches, volcanoes and possibly islands

The area where one plate sinks into the asthenosphere underneath another plate is known as ______________.

subduction zone

The type of plate boundary that causes tremors and earthquakes in California is ______________.

transform boundary

The type of tectonic plate boundary that occurs when two plates are colliding into each other is known as a _________.

Convergent boundary