constructive processes that build mountains

The two types of plate boundaries that are most likely to produce volcanic activity are divergent plate boundaries and convergent plate boundaries.Īt a divergent boundary, tectonic plates move apart from one another. Volcanoes are most common in these geologically active boundaries. Sometimes, the plates collide with one another or move apart. They move only a few centimeters per year. These plates are not fixed, but are constantly moving at a very slow rate. These plates are huge slabs of Earth’s crust and upper mantle, which fit together like pieces of a puzzle. Most volcanoes form at the boundaries of Earth’s tectonic plates.

Volcanologists closely monitor volcanoes so they can better predict impending eruptions and prepare nearby populations for potential volcanic hazards that could endanger their safety. About 350 million people (or about one out of every 20 people in the world) live within the “danger range” of an active volcano. Eruptions can create new landforms, but can also destroy everything in their path. Volcanoes are incredibly powerful agents of change. Many others are dormant volcanoes, showing no current signs of exploding but likely to become active at some point in the future.

About 1,900 volcanoes on Earth are considered active, meaning they show some level of occasional activity and are likely to erupt again. They are found throughout the world, forming ridges deep below the sea surface and mountains that are thousands of meters high.

Volcanoes come in many different shapes and sizes but are most commonly cone-shaped hills or mountains. Along with lava, volcanoes also release gases, ash, and, solid rock. This molten rock is called magma when it is beneath the surface and lava when it erupts, or flows out, from a volcano. A volcano is a feature in Earth’s crust where molten rock is squeezed out onto the Earth’s surface.

Constructive processes that build mountains