Mod+3+-+Taylor+F


 * __Divergent Boundaries__**

A boundary between two lithospheric plates that are moving apart is a divergent boundary. Divergent boundaries are often called spreading centers and mostly lie along the ocean floor. Rift valleys, which are valleys at the center of a mid-ocean ridge, form the boundary between two lithospheric plates. One process often called sea floor spreading, when molten rock pushes its way up through cracks, creates new ocean crust when the molten rocks cool. In rift valleys at mid-ocean ridge, most break into segments that are offset by each other by fracture zones, or breaks. Because of these fractions zones, when movement occurs in them they can create earthquakes along the mid-ocean ridges. An example would be the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, seperating the Eurasian and North American Plate in the North Atlantic and the African and South American Plate in the South Atlantic. The East Pacific Rise in the eastern Pacific is also a divergent boundary seperating the Pacific and North American Plate.

Like divergent boundaries, a convergent boundary is between two plates that are moving, but in a different direction. A convergent boundary's plates are moving toward each other, or converging, instead of moving away from each other. Also convergent boundaries have two classifications that are subduction boundaries and collision boundaries. Subduction boundaries are between the two plates that plunge, or subduct, beneath other plates. The subduction boundary has a special feature known as a deep-sea trench which is long and forms around the boundary and are the deepest parts of the ocean floor. An example of a subduction boundary would be the Nazca plate subducting under the South American Plate, on the west coast of South America, where the Peru-Chile Trench formed between the two plates. Along with the Peru-Chile Trench that formed, the Andes Mountains and active volcanoes were formed on the western edge of South America. Collision Boundaries are boundaries that form when two continents collide and are welded together into a larger continent. The Himalayas mountains were formed by a collision boundary by pushing India northward into china, making the crust of the boundary move up towards the mountain.
 * __Convergent, Subduction, and Collision Boundaries__**

__**Transform Boundaries**__ A boundary between two plates that are sliding past each other are transform boundaries. Most transform boundaries movements are not uniform and usually slide past each other. An example of a transform boundary is the San Andreas Fault in California. The boundary is where the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate slide against each other. Another example is the North Anatolian Fault in Turkey. The North Anatolian Fault is between the Eurasian Plate and Anatolian Plate. Finally, the fracture zones along mid-ocean ridges also can be called Transform Boundaries.



__**Earthquakes**__ Due to the different boundaries, when certain movements occur at fault zones, such as colliding, stretching, squeezing, and sliding, they create earthquakes, or "temblors". Even though earthquakes happen everyday, they usually happen in smaller, less deadlier, tremors that are hardly noticeable unlike the larger ones. Quakes are measured by their magnitude rating which is based on strength and the duration of the seismic waves, which are created when stress is released quickly by plates. Scientist determine the danger of the quake by the magnitude rating which ranges from three to eight or greater. A quake measuring from three to five is considered minor or light while five to seven is moderate or strong and seven to eight or greater is major. After most earthquakes are after shocks which sometimes are harmful and can result in causing fires, mud slides, floods, or even tsunamis creating even more damage.

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 * __Bibliography__**