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Plate Tectonics - Plates colliding.
As the oceanic plate collides
with the continental
plate,
the enormous forces cause
rocks to melt and new magma is formed.
This magma under
pressure may burst out of a
volcano
as much as 100 km inland from the plate boundary.
The continental plate is crumpled and folded,
giving rise to mountain ranges called
fold mountains.
The Andes mountain range is
formed in this way,
on the west coast of South America where the Nazca Plate (oceanic)
collides with the South American Plate (continental).
An oceanic
trench is formed offshore
where the oceanic plate is forced
downwards at the subduction
zone.
Two continental plates may also collide, building
mountains.
An example is the Himalayas,
where the Indo-Australian Plate is
colliding with the Eurasian Plate.
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