Oceaninc-Continental Plate Boundary
![Picture](/uploads/4/6/3/8/46382525/7826881.png?784)
An Oceanic-Continental Plate Boundary is a subduction zone (subduction zones in the Caribbean Plate shown in the figure to the left )
that is formed at a convergent plate boundary. As both plates collide, the denser plate made of oceanic crust is subducted underneath the less dense plate.
that is formed at a convergent plate boundary. As both plates collide, the denser plate made of oceanic crust is subducted underneath the less dense plate.
A perfect example of an oceanic- continental plate boundary is the one between the Cocos Plate and the Caribbean Plate. In this case the Cocos plate is more dense therefore sub ducting underneath the Caribbean Plate as shown on the picture above. This Spontaneous subduction zone, because of the gravitational instability of the oceanic lithosphere, causes the heavier plate to bend downward ( in this case the Cocos plate ) creating a perfectly well defined deep trench as shown on the figure below.
![Picture](/uploads/4/6/3/8/46382525/6003060.png?658)
In Subduction Zones earthquakes often occur. As the force of the plates movement continues after the plates finally get stuck in a position. The movement eventually causes the plates to be forcefully moved out of their position leading to a mass movement of the ground which produces earthquakes. one of the largest earthquakes in that area occurred off the shore of El Salvador on June 19, 1982. The earthquake reached an an astonishing 7.0 on the Richter scale and had a depth of 81.60 kilometers or 50.70 miles.
This subduction zone also includes many volcanos. This occurs when the subducted leaning edge heats up and adds it's water to the mantle above it. The mantle rock then melts to make magma, trapping the superheated water under a great amount of pressure. As a result you get the continuous arc of volcanoes that stretches from Costa Rica to Guatemala. One of those volcanoes still active today is the Santa Maria Volcano, located in Guatemala. This Stratovolcano or " composite volcano " is still an active volcano and is responsible for one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the twentieth century that occurred in 1902.