First, click on this, and download and print the document.* It contains the beginnings of each plate boundary you will need to know how to draw.
* - I'm not kidding about this. Print out this document and practice the drawings, or you will regret it when you take the exam.
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This is
the beginning of understanding a Continent-Continent
Convergent Boundary. How do they form? How
do 2 continents collide? |
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Let's go
back to the situation with a Continent-Ocean Convergent
Boundary, with a continent on the other end of the
ocean. As time goes on ... |
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the ocean
gets narrower and narrower ... |
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until the
ocean is crushed out of existence and the two continents
collide. |
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When the
two Continents collide, both are too thick to subduct,
and neither are dense enough to subduct, so instead,
they crumple into each other and thicken (you might say
they "shmush" together). Continental Mountains
are pushed up, and a "Root" is pushed
down. This root is present under almost all
mountain ranges, as low density continental crust is
pushed down into dense mantle. That root is what
supports the mountain range. Under the Himalayas,
the crust is about 90 km thick, the thickest anywhere on
Earth. The line where the previous 2 continents met is known as a "Suture". Note that this is extremely simplified, but the basics are what I want you to know. If you continue on in Geology, you'll learn more about the details. Now click your "back" button to go back to the Plate Tectonics page. |