Chapter 24 - Plate Collision

The crust of the earth is composed of a series of plates that are constantly slowly moving. These plates are always moving either away from, into, or beside one another. When these plates meet one another their is a great collision, the result of which is dependent upon the type of lithosphere that is in the collision. Continental crust is a much lower density then that of the much more dense oceanic crust, and thus when these two crusts meet the oceanic crust is pushed under the continual crust as the continental crust rises over it. This process is known as subduction, and the area in which it takes place is known as the subduction zone. In the case of Oceanic plates colliding with oceanic plates, subduction will occur as one plate will override the other. Conversely when two continental plates collide the plates will contort and build up causing earth quakes and land deformation but not volcanic activity.