Convergent Boundaries
Convergent Boundaries are boundaries where the plates collide. There are two different types of convergent boundaries, continent-to-continent and ocean-to-continent.
Continent-to-continent convergent boundaries are when continental plates collide with other continental plates to form mountains, you also get earthquakes that occur here. The stress that occurs here is compression.
Ocean-to-continent convergent boundaries are when the oceanic plates collide with the continental plates. This can create volcanoes, trenches, and earthquakes occur. When it's an ocean-to-continent convergent boundary it's called subduction. The stress that occurs here is also compression.
Examples of Landforms created by convergent boundaries: Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Etna, Mt. Fuji, and the Himalayas.
Background Image: Mt. St. Helens
World Tragedy caused by a convergent boundary
On April 25, 2015 in Nepal there was earthquake called the Gorkha earthquake. The earthquake killed about 9,000 and injured nearly 22,000 people. The magnitude was 7.8 Mw (moment magnitude scale) or 8.1 Ms (surface wave magnitude). The earthquake caused an avalanche to occur on Mt. Everest and Langtang valley, Mt. Everest avalanche killed 21 and 250 people were reported missing with the Langtang avalanche. The earthquake destroyed a lot of buildings and it's estimated to be around $10 billion worth of damage.
Background Image: Mt. Fuji
Divergent boundary
Divergent boundaries are boundaries where the plates move away form each other. There are two different types of divergent plate boundaries, Continental-Continental and Oceanic-Oceanic.
Continental-Continental divergent boundaries are boundaries where the two continental plates move away from each other. When this happens this can cause faults, earthquakes, and rift valleys. The stress that occurs here is tension.
Oceanic-Oceanic divergent boundaries are when the oceanic plates move away from each other. This causes mid-ocean ridges to form and volcanoes, and earthquakes occur here. The stress that occurs here is tension.
Background Image: Mt. Kilimanjaro
World Tragedy caused by a divergent boundary
The Eyjafjallajökull eruption in 2010 started on March 20 and ended on June 23, 2010, but the effects didn't really happen till April 14 when the eruption went through a second phase. This caused an ash cloud to form, and 20 countries closed their airports, and this affected about 10 million travelers, this lasted for 6 days.
Transform Boundaries
Transform boundaries are where the two plates slide past each other. This can cause transform faults and fault zones. The stress that occurs her is shearing.
The two most popular faults are the San Andreas fault in California and the Alpine fault in New Zealand.
Background Image: San Andreas fault
World Tragedy caused by a transform boundary
The Loma Prieta earthquake earthquake occured on October 17, 1989 in Northern California. The magnitude of this earthquake was 6.9 Mw. The earthquake killed 63 and injured 3,757. The area with the most damage was in Santa Cruz county. The site with the single most casualties is the collapse of the Nimitz Freeway. The break in gas pipelines cause fires to breakout. The earthquake caused more than $5 billion in damage.
Background Image: Alpine fault