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Plate Tectonics: Convergent, Divergent & Transform Boundaries (2D)

Top-down 2D plate-tectonics lab: rigid plates drift at real cm/yr velocities, convergent boundaries subduct and build mountains, divergent boundaries spread new seafloor with magnetic-stripe ageing, and transform boundaries store elastic stress until a stick-slip earthquake releases it.

Nature & Climate2DModerate60 FPS📱 Mobile-adapted🌍 Earth⇄ 3D version
2d-tectonic-plates ↗ Open standalone

This top-down 2D companion to the 3D globe drives the same rigid-plate idea from a flat map that is easier to read quantitatively: five to nine plates drift at their own real cm/yr velocity, a live Voronoi tessellation turns those velocities into moving plate boundaries, and each boundary is classified every frame from the actual relative velocity of its two plates — convergent boundaries subduct the denser or older crust and raise mountains or a collision belt, divergent boundaries spread new seafloor that cools and subsides with age (with continental rifts eventually breaking into new ocean), and transform boundaries accumulate elastic stress that releases as a genuine stick-slip earthquake. Switch between Elevation, Plates and Crust-age views, or read the cross-cutting trench-to-ridge profile along the map's centre row.

⚙ Under the hood

Top-down 2D plate-tectonics lab: rigid plates drift at real cm/yr velocities across a live Voronoi map, convergent boundaries subduct the denser or older crust and build mountains or a collision belt, divergent boundaries spread new seafloor that cools and subsides with age (magnetic-stripe banding included), and transform boundaries store elastic stress until a stick-slip earthquake releases it.

plate tectonicssubductionseafloor spreadingtransform faultearthquakegeologyvoronoi2D simulation

2D · HTML5 Canvas 2D · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install

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