Overview of Four Types of Boundaries and Their Effect on the Geology of the Earth’s Crust

For millions of years, the earth has never stopped moving, internally and externally. The features of our earth are continuously changing and have been doing that since the formation of the earth. Today, geologists present a scientific theory justify the movement of the earth’s plates called tectonic plates which divide the earth’s crust into plates and boundaries (Continental Movement by Plate Tectonics 2019).

This report is written to give information about the four types of boundaries and their effect on the geology of the earth’s crust and to explain the results and consequences of this movement. Geologists categorise the boundaries into four different types of and they describe the motion and direction of the boundary zones. Boundaries or fault lines are narrow long zones between tectonic plates and most geological activates that forms earth’s surface occur at these zones. Earthquakes, volcanoes, formation of mountain ranges, valleys and rising of plateaus are examples of the earth’s plate tectonics at the fault lines or boundaries (Understanding plate motions 2014).

According to Continental Movement by Plate Tectonics (2019) tectonic plates are individual sections of the earth’s crust that can be moved independently by convection currents. Recall convection current is the movement of the molten rocks inside earth’s mantle under the crusts, the low dense continental land masses and high dense oceanic floor. The short-term impacts of the tectonic plate movements are earthquakes and volcanoes; however, the long-term impact is the entire continents moving over.

Nowadays, geologists have a general idea of understanding the method of tectonic plate movement and the relationship between this movement and the earth activities. All the activities of earth’s crust have taken place along boundaries and fault lines where the accumulated energy of the plate’s movement can be released.

Boundaries can be divided into four types: 1) divergent boundaries, 2) convergent boundaries, 3) transform plate boundaries and, 4) plate boundary zones (Understanding plate motion 2014).

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Divergent boundaries, also known as constructive plate margins or spreading centres where new ocean floor forms (Edward & Frederick 2015). The place of two plates spread from each other and create a new oceanic crust from molten rock (magma) that rises up from the mantle (Understanding plate motion 2014). Continental Movement by Plate Tectonics (2019) identify the process of forming mid-ocean ridges or seafloor spreading. This process occurs inside ocean crust where convection currents carry out hot magma to the ocean surface, at this point tectonic plates move away from each other while magma becomes cold and create mid-ocean ridges. Examples of seafloor spreading are the Atlantic Ocean basin, The Gulf of California, and the Red Sea, these ridges form gradually along thousands of kilometres connecting ocean floors together over hundreds of millions of years. On the continent, divergent boundaries also can be developed where land masses are separated into smaller pieces due to the fact continental crust stretches tightly and pulls plates apart to shape continent rift or rift valley such as East African Rift Valley (Edward & Frederick 2015).

In spite of the fact that the lithosphere gets renewed every minute and new crusts get created the earth stays the same size. With this in mind, the old heavy oceanic lithosphere dives into the mantle, simultaneously new sea floor appears. This process happens along convergent boundaries, the place where one plate moves towards another and the edge of the denser plate bends beneath the other. These are subduction zones. Convergent boundaries can be divided into three types, depending on its location and they all form in the same way:

1. Oceanic-continental convergence: the results of the subduction ate active volcanoes. They occur in South America, the Andes and the Cascade Range in Washington in North America.
2. Oceanic-oceanic convergence: for instance, the Tonga and the Aleutian Mariana Islands.
3. Continental-continental convergence: an example of this movement is the formation of the Himalayas Range because of the collision of India and Eurasia plates (Edward & Frederick 2015).

The location of two plates sliding over each other horizontally resulting in the creation or damage of a crust. Some of these boundaries can be found on land, however most of them occur on the oceanic floor. Transform boundaries usually form zig-zag plate edges or balance the two active divergent boundaries or less frequently, trenches (convergent boundaries) (Understanding plate motion 2014). These boundaries are also called ‘transform fault’. The movement of these vaults do not cause any production or damage for the lithosphere; however, weak shallow earthquakes are normally generated at active transform faults which pound in the middle of fracture zones only. Recall, fracture zones are long narrow crack located in the sea floor that are crossing the adjacent ridges segments. Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example fracture zone which has inactive zone and transform fault. The other two examples of transform boundaries are San Andreas Fault of California where earthquakes are more likely to happen and New Zealand’s Alpine Fault (Edward & Frederick 2015). These boundaries are uncommon and more complicated geological than others due to the fact that they can placed between at least two major plates and one or more microplates.

The deformation of the plate movement there occurs over wild extending belt and causes many patterned earthquakes. Between Eurasian and African plate the Mediterranean-Alpine region is located as an example of plate boundary zone where many microplates have been known (Understanding plate motion 2014).

Plate tectonic theory has divided earth’s crust into different size segments called tectonic plates. Boundaries and faults are the borderline between plates where most geological complicated activities occur such as earthquakes and volcanos over millions of years. The motion of the four boundaries are constantly changing the surface structures of our earth by creating new crust or destroying one, and the best example for all these actions is the region of Pacific Ring of Fire (Edward J. & Fredric K. 2015).