Plate tectonics involves the movement of rigid tectonic plates that make up the lithosphere. There are three types of plate boundaries: convergent boundaries where plates collide, divergent boundaries where plates move apart, and transform boundaries where plates slide past each other. Convergent boundaries can be subduction zones where one plate is forced under another, causing volcanoes and earthquakes. Divergent boundaries form new crust through seafloor spreading at ocean ridges or rift valleys on land. Transform boundaries experience stress buildup and release as earthquakes when plates cannot smoothly pass each other.