Convergent plate boundary[ kən-vûr′jənt ]

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving toward each other. If the two
plates are of equal density, they usually push up against each other, forming a mountain
chain. If they are of unequal density, one plate usually sinks beneath the other in a
subduction zone. The western coast of South America and the Himalayan Mountains
are convergent plate boundaries. Also called active margin collision zone See more at
tectonic boundary. Compare divergent plate boundary.

Divergent plate boundary[ dĭ-vûr′jənt ]

A tectonic boundary where two plates are moving away from each other and new
crust is forming from magma that rises to the Earth's surface between the two plates.
The middle of the Red Sea and the mid-ocean ridge (running the length of the Atlantic
Ocean) are divergent plate boundaries. Also called passive margin spreading zone See
more at tectonic boundary. Compare convergent plate boundary.

Transform Plate Boundaries

Are locations where two plates slide past one another. The fracture zone that
forms a transform plate boundary is known as a transform fault. Most transform faults
are found in the ocean basin and connect offsets in the mid-ocean ridges. A smaller
number connect mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones.

Transform faults can be distinguished from the typical strike-slip faults because the
sense of movement is in the opposite direction (see illustration). A strike-slip fault is a
simple offset; however, a transform fault is formed between two different plates, each
moving away from the spreading center of a divergent plate boundary. When you look
at the transform fault diagram, imagine the double line as a divergent plate boundary
and visualize which way the diverging plates would be moving.

A smaller number of transform faults cut continental lithosphere. The most famous
example of this is the San Andreas Fault Zone of western North America. The San
Andreas connects a divergent boundary in the Gulf of California with the Cascadia
subduction zone. Another example of a transform boundary on land is the Alpine Fault
of New Zealand. Both the San Andreas Fault and the Alpine Fault are shown on
our Interactive Plate Tectonics Map.
 Collision/Collide
A clash; conflict: a collision of purposes. Physics. the meeting of particles or of
bodies in which each exerts a force upon the other, causing the exchange of energy or
momentum.

A collision is the event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other
in about a relatively short time. ... Some examples of physical interactions
that scientists would consider collisions are the following: When an insect lands on a
plant's leaf, its legs are said to collide with the leaf

Sub·merge
1. cause to be under water.
"houses had been flooded and cars submerged"
synonyms: flood, inundate, deluge, engulf, swamp, immerse, drown; More
o descend below the surface of an area of water.
"the U-boat had had time to submerge"
synonyms: go under water, dive, sink, plunge, plummet, drop, go down
"the U-boat would have had time to submerge"
o completely cover or obscure.
"the tensions submerged earlier in the campaign now came to the fore"
synonyms: hide, conceal, veil, cloak, repress, suppress
"a healthy return to old values which had been submerged"