Volcanoes and Plate Boundaries: What’s the Connection?
When and where on the planet have volcanoes erupted recently? What kinds of volcanoes occur in
those locations? Can the type of volcano give us clues to what is happening at a plate boundary?
In this activity, you will find out about some of the world's most recently active volcanoes. You'll also
learn about the relationship between the type of volcano and its location in relation to the type of plate
boundary where it sits.
Volcano Name
Arenal, Costa
Rica
Hekla, Iceland
Iwate-san,
Honshu, Japan
Fernandina,
Galapagos
Islands
Ruapehu, New
Zealand
Cleveland
Volcano,
Chuginadak
Island, Alaska
Karymsky,
Kamchatka,
Russia
Nyamuragira,
Congo, Africa
Lascar, Chile
Erta Ale,
Ethiopia
Etna, Sicily,
Italy
Kilauea,
Hawai’i
Date of
Eruption or
Activity
Volcano Type
(Shield or
Stratovolcano)
Location
(Longitude &
Latitude)
Plate Boundary
Type
1) Visit the Current Volcanic Activity site,
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/oldroot/volcanoes/alpha.html#h and
http://volcano.oregonstate.edu/volcanoes_by_country to find the location, type, and most
recent date of eruption or activity for each of the volcanoes listed on the worksheet.
Negative numbers for Latitude mean that they are South of the Equator, and negative
numbers for Longitude mean West of the Prime Meridian.
2) Enter all of this information in the table. Conduct an internet search for any data not
included in the two webpages listed above.
3) Plot each of the volcanoes on the world map that is attached to this sheet.
4) Visit the Map of Major Tectonic Plates of the World
http://johomaps.com/world/worldtecton.html and use the world map provided to determine
the tectonic plate location for each volcano listed above and enter that information in the
table.
5) Visit Plate Boundaries, Eastern Hemisphere and Western Hemisphere. A link to these
maps has been posted on my website. Find the types of boundaries where the volcanoes are
located to help you answer the questions below.
QUESTIONS:
a) Which types of volcanoes are occurring along convergent plate boundaries?
b) Which types of volcanoes are occurring along divergent plate boundaries?
c) Which types of volcanoes occur at areas that are not on plate boundaries? What type
are they? How would you explain their presence?