Which boundary is associated with the creation of new crust as plates move apart?

Which boundary is associated with the creation of new crust as plates move apart?

• A. Divergent Boundary
• B. Transform Boundary
• C. Convergent Boundary
• D. Subduction Zone

Answer: (A)

When plates move apart, magma from the mantle rises into the gap and forms new crust as it cools. This process creates new lithosphere at the boundary where the plates are diverging, so the boundary is the divergent boundary. Think of mid-ocean ridges where sea-floor spreading adds new ocean crust, and rift valleys that form when continents pull apart and crust is generated from upwelling magma. Other boundary types involve different interactions: a transform boundary has plates sliding past each other with little to no new crust being created; a convergent boundary brings plates together, often recycling crust or building mountains; a subduction zone is a specific kind of convergent boundary where one plate dives beneath another, destroying crust rather than creating it.

When plates move apart, magma from the mantle rises into the gap and forms new crust as it cools. This process creates new lithosphere at the boundary where the plates are diverging, so the boundary is the divergent boundary. Think of mid-ocean ridges where sea-floor spreading adds new ocean crust, and rift valleys that form when continents pull apart and crust is generated from upwelling magma.

Other boundary types involve different interactions: a transform boundary has plates sliding past each other with little to no new crust being created; a convergent boundary brings plates together, often recycling crust or building mountains; a subduction zone is a specific kind of convergent boundary where one plate dives beneath another, destroying crust rather than creating it.