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In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary or divergent plate boundary (also known as a constructive boundary or an extensional boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other. Divergent boundaries within continents initially produce rifts, which eventually become rift valleys.
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that the Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.
Convergent boundaries are areas where plates move toward each other and collide. These are also known as compressional or destructive boundaries. Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This ...
Earthquakes are common along convergent boundaries. A region of high earthquake activity, the Wadati–Benioff zone, generally dips 45° and marks the subducting plate. Earthquakes will occur to a depth of 670 km (416 mi) along the Wadati-Benioff margin. [citation needed] Both compressional and extensional forces act along convergent boundaries.
Orogeny (/ ɒ ˈ r ɒ dʒ ə n i /) is a mountain-building process that takes place at a convergent plate margin when plate motion compresses the margin. An orogenic belt or orogen develops as the compressed plate crumples and is uplifted to form one or more mountain ranges. This involves a series of geological processes collectively called ...
Earthquakes are common on the West Coast, with multiple plate boundaries like the San Andreas fault making geologic activity more likely. They are rarer on the East Coast, but they do happen ...
Subducting plates can lead to orogeny by bringing oceanic islands, oceanic plateaus, sediments and passive continental margins to convergent margins. The material often does not subduct with the rest of the plate but instead is accreted to (scraped off) the continent, resulting in exotic terranes .
The driver for seafloor spreading in plates with active margins is the weight of the cool, dense, subducting slabs that pull them along, or slab pull. The magmatism at the ridge is considered to be passive upwelling, which is caused by the plates being pulled apart under the weight of their own slabs.