What happens if two oceanic plates meet

A couple of hot spots that surfaced below this plate have also been linked to active seismic activities. One of them is the Yellowstone hot spring. The American plate is also a major tectonic plate. The third plate on the list of the major tectonic plate is the Eurasian plate. And as the name implies, some part of the Asian continent and Europe sits in this plate. It also comes as the third-largest plate in terms of size. This tectonic plate though stands as the third-largest, has diverse eye-opening geographical information.

One is the famous Himalayan Range. The collision of two plates formed the Himalayan Mountains. This includes the meeting of the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate.

Also, this Eurasian plate is an active one. Its territory is likely to witness the occurrence of natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes. The area where the plate occurs also measures 67,,sq kilometers.

Well, part of the continent of African sits on this plate. This African plate also consists of some regions of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans too. The plate is the fourth-largest in terms of size. It measures 61,, sq kilometers and is a major plate. It measures 60,, and is the fifth-largest among the tectonic plates.

The Antarctic plate is also a major plate. This plate was created many years ago. And as its name implies, the Indo-Australian plate developed due to the meeting of the Australian and Indian plates.

This plate also measures 58,, sq kilometers. Plus, it is a major tectonic plate, too. The last plate on the list of major tectonic plates is the South American Plate. And for the records, tectonic activity that occurs at the boundary, particular between the Nazca and South American plate, has a hand in the orogeny and volcanic activity the region is experiencing.

This plate also measures 43,, sq kilometers. This plate encompasses Somalia, an African country. It is a minor plate that measures 16,, sq kilometers. We have talked about what happens when oceanic and continental plates collide. I also believe you now know the differences between the two plates. When two plates move towards each other, the boundary is known as a convergent boundary. As previously mentioned, depending on what type of crust each converging plate is, different geographic features are formed.

When two continental crusted plates converge, they eventually collide and end up producing mountains; this was how the Himalayan Mountains were created. Neither continental crust will subduct underneath one another because of their similar densities. When two oceanic plates converge, the denser plate will end up sinking below the less dense plate, leading to the formation of an oceanic subduction zone.

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Tile 9 Description. Tile 10 Description. Tile 11 Description. Tile 12 Description. Tile 13 Description. Tile 14 Description. Tile 15 Description. Tile 16 Description. This partial melting of the subducting plate is due to the loss of water as it descends into the mantle.

The andesitic magma is now less dense than the surrounding material so it rises through the crust and erupts to form an arc of volcanoes called an island arc. The distance between the trench and the island arc depends greatly upon where the subducting plate reaches the kilometer depth. If the subduction angle is steep then the distance between the arc and the trench will be short. If the suduction angle is shallow the distance is longer. The main features are indicated in the diagram below.

The swell is seen by a bulge in the in the downgoing plate where it is subducted into the mantle. The backarc region is located behind the arc and can be compressed or extended.

Ocean-ocean collision zone. When an oceanic and a continental plate collide, eventually the oceanic plate is subducted under the continental plate due to the high density of the oceanic plate.