Mod+3+-+Madison+M

There are three types of plate boundaries the first one being Divergent Boundaries, second, Convergent Boundaries and third Transform boundaries. A Divergent Boundary is occur along spreading centers where plates are moving apart and new crust is created by magma pushing up from the mantle. The best known Divergent boundary is the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The submerged mountain range which extends from the Atlantic ocean to beyond the southern tip of Africa. New ocean crust forms there, the spreading rate for the Mid Atlantic Ridge is 2.5 centimeters a year. Second, Convergent Boundary. Crust is destroyed as fast as new crust is created. Convergent Boundaries are plates moving toward each other sometimes one plate sinks under the other. This is called a Subduction Zone. Convergence can occur between an Oceanic Plate and a large Continental plate or two large Oceanic Pates or two large Continental Plates. Trenches are the deepest parts of the ocean floor and are created by Subduction. One example of subduction is the Peru-Chile trench, the Nazca Plate is pushing into and being subducted under the Continental Part of South American Plate. Third, Transform Boundaries, an example of a Transform boundary is the San Andreas Fault. Transform boundaries is when two plates slide horizontally past each other. The large faults are called Fracture Zones. Most Transform faults are found on the ocean floor. Generally defined by shallow earthquakes, few occur on land. This Transform fault connects the East Pacific Rise, a Divergent Boundary, to the South with the South Gorda, another Divergent Boundary. The two plates that make it up are the Pacific Plate and Te North American Plate. These are the three Plate Boundaries. "Understanding Plate Motions." //USGS//. 5 May 1999. USGS, Web. 8 Nov 2009. .