When an oceanic and a continental plate collide, eventually the oceanic plate is subducted under the continental plate due to the high density of the oceanic plate . ... When the oceanic plate is subducted due to partial melting of the asthenosphere magma with an andesitic composition is formed.
Why does the oceanic plate slide underneath the continental plate?
When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate, the oceanic crust will always subduct under the continental crust; this is because oceanic crust is naturally denser . ... This melting leads to heat being transferred upwards and uplifting the crust, eventually developing into a volcano.
Why do oceanic plates go under continental plates quizlet?
The denser oceanic plate subducts beneath the less dense continental plate . The oceanic crust sinks into a trench where there is increased heat and pressure which melts the rock into magma. ... The older and more dense oceanic plate subducts under the younger and less dense oceanic crust generating a subduction zone.
Is when an oceanic plate goes underneath a continental plate?
Different types of plate boundaries
As the plates collide, the oceanic plate is forced beneath the continental plate. This is known as subduction and results in the formation of an ocean trench. This happens because the oceanic plate is denser (heavier) than the continental plate.
What is the difference between oceanic plate and continental plate?
Oceanic plates are much thinner than the continental plates . ... At the convergent boundaries the continental plates are pushed upward and gain thickness. The rocks and geological layers are much older on continental plates than in the oceanic plates. The Continental plates are much less dense than the Oceanic plates.
What will happen if two oceanic plates collide?
A subduction zone is also generated when two oceanic plates collide — the older plate is forced under the younger one — and it leads to the formation of chains of volcanic islands known as island arcs. ... Earthquakes generated in a subduction zone can also give rise to tsunamis.
What happens when an oceanic plate collides with a continental plate quizlet?
What happens when an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide? ... The continental crust is pushed together and upward to form large MOUNTAIN ranges.
What happens when an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate quizlet?
What happens when an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate? The oceanic plate is subducted . ... The two plates are forced upward, and a large mountain range is formed.
What forms when two of Earth’s plates pull apart?
When two continental plates diverge, a valleylike rift develops . This rift is a dropped zone where the plates are pulling apart. As the crust widens and thins, valleys form in and around the area, as do volcanoes, which may become increasingly active.
When a plate sinks below another plate it pulls on the rest of the plate exerting a force called?
Basal drag is the force produced by the sinking of a plate. of slowly moving rock plates. 9. The rigid outermost rock layer of Earth is the mantle.
What is it called when one plate moves under another?
In some cases, however, a convergent plate boundary can result in one tectonic plate diving underneath another. This process, called “ subduction ,” involves an older, denser tectonic plate being forced deep into the planet underneath a younger, less-dense tectonic plate.
Why do plates move towards each other?
The plates can be thought of like pieces of a cracked shell that rest on the hot, molten rock of Earth’s mantle and fit snugly against one another. The heat from radioactive processes within the planet’s interior causes the plates to move, sometimes toward and sometimes away from each other.
What are the 2 oceanic plates?
An example of an oceanic plate is the Pacific Plate , which extends from the East Pacific Rise to the deep-sea trenches bordering the western part of the Pacific basin. A continental plate is exemplified by the North American Plate, which includes North America as well as the oceanic crust...
Which plate is thicker continental or oceanic?
Continental crust is typically 30-50 km thick , whilst oceanic crust is only 5-10 km thick. Oceanic crust is denser, can be subducted and is constantly being destroyed and replaced at plate boundaries.
What is the oldest tectonic plate?
The oldest substantial chunk of Earth’s crust has been found in Greenland , and dates back at least 3.8 billion years.
When two oceanic plates collide what determines which plate Subducts?
If the two plates that meet at a convergent plate boundary both are of oceanic crust, the older, denser plate will subduct beneath the less dense plate .
