A convergent boundary is a location on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide/02%3A_Plate_Tectonics/2.03%3A_Convergent_Boundaries). One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction/02%3A_Plate_Tectonics/2.03%3A_Convergent_Boundaries). The geologic features related to convergent boundaries vary depending on the types of crust involved. Some lithospheric plates consist of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. In some instances, initial convergence with another plate will destroy oceanic lithosphere, leading to convergence of two continental plates. Neither continental plate will subduct. It is likely that the plate may break along the boundary of continental and oceanic crust.

When oceanic lithosphere and continental lithosphere collide, the dense oceanic lithosphere subducts beneath the less dense continental lithosphere. An accretionary wedge forms on the continental crust as deep-sea sediments and oceanic crust are scraped from the oceanic plate. Volcanic arcs form on continental lithosphere as the result of partial melting due to dehydration of the hydrous minerals of the subducting slab.

A convergent boundary can produce earthquakes, volcanic activity, and crustal deformation. A chain of volcanoes often forms parallel to convergent plate boundaries, and powerful earthquakes are common along these boundaries. At convergent plate boundaries, oceanic crust is often forced down into the mantle where it begins to melt. Magma rises into and through the other plate, solidifying into granite, the rock that makes up the continents. Thus, at convergent boundaries, continental crust is created and oceanic crust is destroyed.