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=** The Earth's Plates **=

The Earth is made up of plates that float on the lithosphere. The way these plates move are discribed as plate tectonics. Some times these plates can carry contonents or submerged mountains.



Divergent Boundaries
In divergent boundaries plates are spread apart by magma going to the surface. When ever two oceanic plates have a divergent boundary it will typically form a mid ocean ridge which is where magma fills a gap where plates where. Divergent boundaries often are assiated or cause the formation of volcanoes. One example of a divergent boundary is the western side of the Nazaca plate and the eastern side of the pacific plate.

Convergent Boundaries
Convergent boundaries are where two plates collide with each other. When two plates carry continents collide there boundary can be know as a collision boundary. Convergent boundaries will typically form mountains. A famos example of convergent boundaries is the Himalayan Mountains formed by the boundary of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Continental Plate.

[[image:himalaya6.jpg width="415" height="330" align="center" caption="Himalayan Mountains"]] Transform Bound [[image:transform1.jpg align="right"]] aries
Transform boundaries form when two plates are side by side and going different directions. Transform boundaries often will cause primary waves and secondary waves or earthquakes. One example of a Transform Boundaries is the Indian, Australin, and Pacific Plate boundary.

Citations  "Caribbean Plate." //What on Earth//. 11 Nov. 2009. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. . "Plate Tectonics." //National Geographic//. Web. 11 Nov. 2009. . "Himalaya Mountains." //Virtualology//. Evisum Inc, Web. 11 Nov. 2009. . Spaulding, Nancy E., and Samuel N. Namowitz. //Earth Science//. Evanston, IL: McDougal Littell, 2005. Print. 