The land masses drifted further apart as the plates continued to move. The continents exist in their current positions because of these movements, which occurred over millions of years. Plates have caused separations in land, as in the Persian Gulf where the continents of Africa and Asia split apart, and mountain chains to form where plates have collided, such as in the Himalayan Mountains. The movement of plates still occurs today. There are three kinds of plate movements that create the different landforms on the Earth, in addition to events such as earthquakes and volcanoes.
Divergent movement occurs when the plates pull apart and move away from each other.
Divergent plate boundaries are the sites of earthquakes, volcanoes, mid-oceanic ridges, or continental rift. Ridges on the ocean floor are caused by divergent movement. The plates pull apart and a rift valley is formed. Magma rises and fills the rift valley and ocean ridges are formed. Convergent movement occurs when the plates move toward each other and collide.