Convergent boundary
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In plate tectonics, a convergent boundary (convergent fault boundary, convergent plate boundary, or active margin) is where two tectonic plates slide towards each other and usually collide forming either a subduction zone with its associated island arc or an orogenic belt and associated mountain range. When the two plates collide, one of the plates is pushed underneath the other (subduction). This then forms oceanic trenches in which the Earth's crust is recycled. There are three types of convergence: oceanic plate-continental plate convergence, oceanic plate-oceanic plate convergence, and continental-continental plate convergence.
Examples
- the collision between the Eurasian Plate and the Indo-Australian Plate which is forming the Himalayas.
- the collision between the northern part of the Pacific Plate and the NW North American Plate which is forming the Aleutian Islands.
- the collision between the Nazca Plate and the South American Plate which has formed and is forming the Andes Mountains.