Answer:
In some ways, Earth resembles a giant jigsaw puzzle. That is because its outer surface is composed of about 20 tectonic plates, enormous sections of Earth’s crust that roughly fit together and meet at places called plate boundaries.
Plate boundaries are important because they are often associated with earthquakes and volcanoes. When Earth’s tectonic plates grind past one another, enormous amounts of energy can be released in the form of earthquakes. Volcanoes are also often found near plate boundaries because molten rock from deep within Earth—called magma—can travel upward at these intersections between plates.
There are many different types of plate boundaries. For example, sections of Earth’s crust can come together and collide (a “convergent” plate boundary), spread apart (a “divergent” plate boundary), or slide past one another (a “transform” plate boundary). Each of these types of plate boundaries is associated with different geological features.
Typically, a convergent plate boundary—such as the one between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate—forms towering mountain ranges, like the Himalaya, as Earth’s crust is crumpled and pushed upward. In some cases, however, a convergent plate boundary can result in one tectonic plate diving underneath another. This process, called “subduction,” involves an older, denser tectonic plate being forced deep into the planet underneath a younger, less-dense tectonic plate. When this process occurs in the ocean, an trench">ocean trench can form. These trenches are some of the deepest places in the ocean, and they are often the sites of strong earthquakes.
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