Question

When an ocean and a continent plate converge, why does the ocean plate always subduct? byu?

Answer 1

Oceanic plate is more denser than continental plate due to the silica content. silica content refers to the minerals such as granite and sandstone. Thus, due to these minerals, the oceanic plate have high silica content resulting it to be more denser than the continental plate so when they move together, the oceanic plate is forced underneath the continental plate. The point at which this happens is called the subduction zone.