Message #12574

[Rebecca]

<sub>Oceanic / Continental



Continental / Continental



Oceanic / Oceanic</sub>


Plates may collide at an oblique angle rather than head-on (e.g. one plate moving north, the other moving south-east), and this may cause strike-slip faulting along the collision zone, in addition to subduction.

Not all plate boundaries are easily defined. Some are broad belts whose movements are unclear to scientists. One example would be the Mediterranean-Alpine boundary, which involves two major plates and several micro plates. The boundaries of the plates do not necessarily coincide with those of the continents. For instance, the North American Plate covers not only North America, but also far eastern Siberia and northern Japan.