Does Subduction always occur on convergent plate boundaries?
Nala, You’re question could be interpreted in two ways…. you could be asking “Does subduction occur at each and every convergent plate boundary?”, or “Does subduction occur only at convergent plate boundaries and not any other types of boundaries?”. The answer to the first quesiton is “no”, but the answer to the second question is “yes”. Subduction very often occurs at convergent plate boundaries, but it does not occur at EVERY convergent plate boundary (for example, the Himalayas are being built by the convergence of two continental plates, with no subduction). However, whenever subduction does occur, the boundaries it occurs at are always convergent. Does this make sense? In other words, a convergent boundary is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition to produce subduction.
