Four plate boundaries
Each produces distinct landforms.
Constructive (divergent). Plates MOVE APART. Magma rises into the gap.
- Landforms: mid-ocean ridges (Mid-Atlantic), rift valleys (East African), shield volcanoes (Iceland).
Destructive (convergent / subduction). Oceanic plate sinks below continental.
- Landforms: deep-sea trenches, volcanic arcs (Andes), composite volcanoes (Mt St Helens, Vesuvius).
Conservative (transform). Plates SLIDE PAST each other.
- Landforms: faults (San Andreas, USA). Major earthquakes; NO volcanoes (no magma generation).
Collision. Two continental plates collide. Neither subducts (both buoyant).
- Landforms: fold mountains (Himalayas β India hitting Eurasia, ongoing).
Cambridge tip. Mark scheme rewards all FOUR with one landform each.
- Constructive β apart β ridges, shield volcanoes.
- Destructive β subduction β trenches, composite volcanoes.
- Conservative β slide β earthquakes only.
- Collision β continental β fold mountains.
See the full worked example for tectonic processes and volcanic - seismic activity β