Occasionally, conservative plate boundaries occur in continental plates. The most famous example is the San Andreas Fault of California, which marks a segment of the boundary between the North American and Pacific Plates.

There are three main types of plate boundaries:

• Convergent boundaries: where two plates are colliding. Subduction zones occur when one or both of the tectonic plates are composed of oceanic crust.
• Divergent boundaries – where two plates are moving apart.
• Transform boundaries – where plates slide passed each other.

A conservative plate boundary, sometimes called a transform plate margin, occurs where plates slide past each other in opposite directions, or in the same direction but at different speeds. Friction is eventually overcome and the plates slip past in a sudden movement.

A large scale landform found along a conservative plate boundary is a fault line. One of the most active fault lines in the world is the San Andreas fault line in California, USA.

Volcanoes and ridges are landforms that are created by the movement of tectonic plates. Some volcanoes are formed when the plates pull apart under the ocean. Other volcanoes are created when a tectonic plate slides under another. As the bottom plate is heated up by the Earth’s hot mantle, a material called magma forms.

Each type of plate boundary generates distinct geologic processes and landforms. At divergent boundaries, plates separate, forming a narrow rift valley. Here, geysers spurt super-heated water, and magma, or molten rock, rises from the mantle and solidifies into basalt, forming new crust.

There is no volcanic activity associated with conservative plates, though earthquakes can often occur. This is because plates do not pass each other smoothly; friction causes resistance. As pressure builds the crust can fracture releasing energy as earthquakes.