Destructive, constructive and conservative plate margins: characteristic processes and associated landforms (seismicity, vulcanicity, young fold mountains, rift valleys, ocean ridges, deep sea trenches, island arcs, volcanoes)
Tectonic plates meet, separate, or slide past each other at plate margins. Each margin type produces distinctive landforms and drives specific hazards like earthquakes and volcanoes.
Real World
The Andes mountain range formed as the Nazca oceanic plate subducted beneath the South American continental plate over millions of years, producing both young fold mountains and the Chile Trench — a classic destructive margin landform sequence.
Exam Focus
For 'explain' questions on landforms, always link the process (e.g. subduction) directly to the feature formed; process → landform chains earn marks.
Essay Framework
Use PEEL to structure every paragraph. Tap each step for guidance and an example.
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