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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Plate Tectonics & Structures

Plate boundary

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, plate boundary means: The zone where two tectonic plates meet. Plates move apart at divergent boundaries, towards each other at convergent boundaries and past each other at transform boundaries.

In Turkish: levha sınırı, plaka sınırı

How it is used

Most earthquakes and volcanoes occur near plate boundaries, so the term is common in hazard discussions. Typical adjectives: divergent, convergent, transform, active. Examples: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (divergent) and the San Andreas Fault (transform).

Example sentences

  1. Iceland sits on a divergent plate boundary.

  2. The East Anatolian Fault forms part of the plate boundary between the Anatolian and Arabian plates.

Common collocations

  • divergent plate boundary
  • convergent plate boundary
  • transform plate boundary
  • along the plate boundary
  • tectonic plateOne of the large, rigid pieces of the Earth's lithosphere that move slowly over the mantle, usually by a few centimetres a year.
  • subductionThe process in which one tectonic plate, usually an oceanic one, sinks beneath another plate and down into the mantle at a convergent boundary.
  • mid-ocean ridgeA long underwater mountain chain where two plates move apart and new oceanic crust forms from rising magma, such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
  • faultA fracture in the Earth's crust along which the rocks on either side have moved. Sudden slip on a fault causes an earthquake.
  • rift valleyA long valley formed where the crust is stretched and pulled apart, so that a block of land drops down between faults. The East African Rift is a well-known example.

More terms: Plate Tectonics & Structures

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