What Happens at Plate Boundaries

At  Divergent Plate boundaries lava spews from long cracks in the rocks. On land earthquakes strike along the cracks called rifts. Rifts are valleys that are surrounded with volcanoes. An example is the East African Rift. In the ocean the ocean geysers spurt that creates mid ocean ridges. A mid ocean ridge is an underwater mountain range. An example of a mid ocean ridge is Gorda Ridge.

East African Rift:

Gorda Ridge:

At a Convergent Plate Boundary two colliding plates buckle the edge of one or both plates forming a rugged mountain range.Rugged Mountains are above sea level. An example of a rugged mountain is Mount Everest.  Under the oceans one plate bends the other down into a deep seafloor trench. A deep sea floor trench is located in the deeper parts of the ocean. An example is Mariana Trench.

Mount Everest:

Mariana Trench:

At a Transform Plate Boundary natural or human made sturctures that cross a transform boundary are split. In land Rocks that are on the boundary are pulverized or crushed as the plates grind past each other. Transform faults stay in the same location. An example of a fault is the San Andreas Fault. In the ocean it creates a linear fault valley or undersea canyon. An undersea canyon is a steep valley on the sea floor.

San Andreas Fault:

Undersea Canyon: