With examples, discuss the types of plate movements

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer: Tectonic plates are large pieces of Earth's crust that move relative to one another. It is believed that the movements are caused by the fluid convective currents in the mantle which are in turn powered by heat within the Earth's inner core. Three main horizontal plate movements are identified. These are: divergent movement, convergent movements and transform movement.

Divergent plate movements occur when plates are spreading apart. The rates of movement are very slow; typically only a few centimeters per year. Globally, most divergent boundaries are under water. Two the most well-known examples are the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the rift valleys of East Africa

A convergent boundary occurs when plates push together. Material from one plate is slowly forced downward by the collision, back into the mantle. The Himalayas originated, and continue to be formed by the convergence of the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.

When two plates neither converge nor diverge, but grind past each other, a transform plate boundary is formed. California's San Andreas Fault is an example of this, because the Pacific plate is moving northwest relative to the North American plate. The boundary between these plates is not a smooth one, and ridges and mountains are built as the two plates grind against one another. The plates bind for long periods and then abruptly slip, causing the earthquakes that frequently strike California.