Table of Contents
What type of plate boundary occurs as a result of rifting?
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Divergent Plate Boundaries Between the two plates is a rift valley. Lava flows at the surface cool rapidly to become basalt, but deeper in the crust, magma cools more slowly to form gabbro. So the entire ridge system is made up of igneous rock that is either extrusive or intrusive.
What plate boundary creates lithosphere?
divergent plate boundary
When two plates are moving away from each other, we call this a divergent plate boundary. Along these boundaries, magma rises from deep within the Earth and erupts to form new crust on the lithosphere. Most divergent plate boundaries are underwater and form submarine mountain ranges called oceanic spreading ridges.
What are the 3 types of boundaries that occur in the lithosphere?
There are three kinds of plate tectonic boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform plate boundaries.
What occurs during rifting?
Rifting is defined as the splitting apart of a single tectonic plate into two or more tectonic plates separated by divergent plate boundaries. The rifting of a continental tectonic plate creates normal fault valleys, small tilted block mountains, and volcanism.
Does convergent boundaries create lithosphere?
A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. Convergent boundaries occur between oceanic-oceanic lithosphere, oceanic-continental lithosphere, and continental-continental lithosphere.
What is a lithosphere plate?
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.
What are the 3 types of plate boundaries define each?
There are three main types of plate boundaries:
- Convergent boundaries: where two plates are colliding. Subduction zones occur when one or both of the tectonic plates are composed of oceanic crust.
- Divergent boundaries – where two plates are moving apart.
- Transform boundaries – where plates slide passed each other.
What happens to the lithosphere at Transform plate boundaries?
What happens to the lithosphere at transform plate boundaries? Lithosphere moves down. Lithosphere is neither destroyed nor created, simply maintained or conserved.
What type of a plate boundary is rifting Baja California from mainland Mexico?
Tectonic Features of Western North America We will start in Mexico, in the region surrounding the Gulf of California, where a divergent plate boundary is rifting Baja California and mainland Mexico apart.