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If you are referring to continental drift then it is mantle convection that moves some plates away from each other and some towards each other. Heating of the mantle closer to the core and then cooling of the mantle near the surface causes a circular effect, the plates (which float on top of the mantle) get dragged around by the circular movement.

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15y ago
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11y ago

All the time! They pull apart due to the Earths movement.

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11y ago

magma being pushed up to earths surface causes plates to be pulled apart

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13y ago

Convection Current.

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10y ago

an earthquake

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11y ago

constructive plate margins

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13y ago

tension

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4y ago

Tension

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Q: What causes plates to be pulled apart?
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Related questions

How are the pushed together and pulled apart?

Both continental and oceanic plates float on the top surface of the mantle, which is divided into convection cells. The movement of these convection cells drag the plates along: where convection causes the mantle material to fall the plates are pushed together and where convection causes the mantle material to rise the plates are pulled apart.


What fault forms when plates are pulled apart?

a normal fault


What physical feature in Africa was formed when the plates pulled apart?

The Nile


How do plates push together?

Both continental and oceanic plates float on the top surface of the mantle, which is divided into convection cells. The movement of these convection cells drag the plates along: where convection causes the mantle material to fall the plates are pushed together and where convection causes the mantle material to rise the plates are pulled apart.


What causes tectonic plate to be pulled apart?

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How was the mount meakan volcano formed?

Plates pushed together makes mountains therefore plates pulled apart makes volcanos


Is it true that rocks an be pulled apart by the movement of tectonic plates?

Yes. Tectonic plates are extremely strong and catastrophic in some cases.


What type of boundary forms when two plates pull apart?

When the two plates are pulled apart it forms a Constructive Plate Boundary. When it is pulled apart, a big hole is made so material from the mantle fills the void and creates a new crust. It can be seen as a wound for example, a scab begins to repair the wound but any stress cracks it apart, that causes the blood (mantle) to ooze back in again to reform a new scab (crust).Hope I helped :)wrong...it's divergent.


What causes two continental plates to diverge?

An earth quake. This happens because the vibrations force the plates apart


How did Pangaea break apart?

Pangaea broke apart because of the movement of tectonic plates, which causes earthquakes and volcanoes.


When plates beneath the ocean move apart from one another what happens to the magma below?

Magma is extruded as lava at the mid-ocean ridges when they are pulled apart.


What causes a super- continent to break apart?

The shifting of tectonic plates and continental drift.