Which boundary destroys crust

This image shows the three main types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Image courtesy of the U. Geological Survey. Download image jpg, 76 KB. A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. Do not sell my personal information.

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Necessary Necessary. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Powerful earthquakes shake a wide area on both sides of the boundary. If one of the colliding plates is topped with oceanic crust, it is forced down into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into new crust. Magma formed from melting plates solidifies into granite, a light colored, low-density rock that makes up the continents.

Thus at convergent boundaries, continental crust, made of granite, is created, and oceanic crust is destroyed. Two plates sliding past each other, Natural or human-made structures that cross a transform boundary are offset—split into pieces and carried in opposite directions.

Rocks that line the boundary are pulverized as the plates grind along, creating a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. As the plates alternately jam and jump against each other, earthquakes rattle through a wide boundary zone. In contrast to convergent and divergent boundaries, no magma is formed. Thus, crust is cracked and broken at transform margins, but is not created or destroyed. Plate boundary zones occur where the effects of the interactions are unclear, and the boundaries, usually occurring along a broad belt, are not well defined and may show various types of movements in different episodes.

Friday, November 12, Sign in. Continental crust is produced and far less often destroyed mostly by plate tectonic processes, especially at convergent plate boundaries. Continental crust is also lost through erosion and sediment subduction, tectonic erosion of forearcs, delamination, and deep subduction of continental crust in collision zones. Plate tectonics affects humans in several important ways.

What would Earth be like without plate tectonics?