Brooks Turville
Earthquakes
Earthquake 1: Near the East Coast of Honshu, Japan.
Magnitude: 5.2
Location: 38.373 Degrees North,
142.774 Degrees East
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Time: 19:06:51 UTC, 04:06:51 AM at
the Epicenter
Depth: 10.00 km (6.21 Miles)
Plate Boundary: Oceanic–Continental
The reason I think this is an oceanic-continental plate is because it looks like the
oceanic crust is subducting underneath the continental crust, therefore causing an
earthquake to occur.
Earthquake 2: Northern Mariana Islands
Magnitude: 5.0
Location: 17.400 Degrees North,
145.826 Degrees East
Date: Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Time: 11:04:54 UTC, 9:04:54 PM at
Epicenter
Depth: 172.60 km (107.3 Miles)
Plate Boundary: Oceanic-Oceanic
The reason I think this is an oceanic-oceanic plate is because of the small islands
that have formed, most likely from 2 oceanic crusts converging together.
Earthquake 3: Northern California
Magnitude: 4.3
Location: 39.499 degrees North,
122.949 degrees West
Date: Sunday, February 23, 2011
Time: 04:49:41 UTC, 08:49:41
PM at Epicenter
Depth: 12.8 km (8.0 Miles)
Plate Boundary: Transform
The reason I think it is transform is because it looks like the different crusts are
grinding up against each other, which causes a lot of friction and thus causing an
earthquake.
Earthquake 4: Kyrgyzstan
Magnitude: 5.0
Location: 39.162 degrees North,
73.824 degrees East
Date: Sunday February 13, 2011
Time: 19:12:35 UTC, 01:12:35 AM
at Epicenter
Depth: 41.8 km (26.0 Miles)
Plate Boundary: ContinentalContinental
The reason I think it is continental-continental is because the continental crusts are
converging together. The amount of pressure is causing the earthquake to occur.
Earthquake 5: Central East Pacific Rise
Magnitude: 5.2
Location: 9.196 degrees South,
109.570 degrees West
Date: Saturday, February 26, 2011
Time: 17:17:52 UTC, 10:17:52 AM
at Epicenter
Depth: 8.6 km ( 5.3 Miles)
Plate Boundary: Divergent
The reason I think it is divergent is because many divergent boundaries occur on
the east pacific rise due to two plates moving apart from each other.
VOLCANOES
Volcano 1 Name: Mauna Kea
(Hawaiin Islands)
Type of Volcano: Shield
Plate Boundary: Hot Spot
Volcano
Volcano 2 Name: Mt. Rainier
(Washington)
Type of Volcano: Composite
Plate Boundary: OceanicContinental
]
Volcano 3 Name: San Quintin
Volcanic Field -Baja California
(Mexico)
Type of Volcano: Cinder Cone
Plate Boundary: Divergent
Volcano 4 Name:
Yellowstone National Park
(Wyoming)
Volcano Type: Caldera
Plate Boundary: Hot Spot
Earthquakes and volcanoes are natural hazards that occur all over the world.
They usually occur along plate boundaries, and depending on what plate
boundary it is will determine the different types of volcanoes that form and how
strong an earthquake will be. Some earthquakes can actually form new
landforms that can eventually become a new volcano. This happens when the
Pacific Plate moves over a hotspot in the mantle. It causes magma to rise and
erupt onto the seafloor, thus forming a small land mass. Over time, many
eruptions cause the land mass to grow until it finally emerges out of the water to
form an island volcano. The Hawaiian Islands are a perfect example of this
process.
The hot magma below the surface of the earth causes different plates to move in
different directions. Convection within the mantle is the driving force for these
plates to move. Some pull apart from each other, some converge together and
others grind up against each other. Not only do plate tectonics connect
earthquakes and volcanoes, but they can also cause many other natural hazards,
such as mud slides, fires, etc to occur. Basically every natural hazard is
connected in some way.
When you look at earthquakes and volcanoes on a map, you will see that they
aren’t very far apart from each other. Many happen along the coast lines of
different continents, but most are along the Ring of Fire. This is mainly because
of subduction zones. In other words, the oceanic crust is being pushed
underneath the continental crust, thus causing large earthquakes and volcanoes
to occur. About 75% of the volcanoes on earth occur on the Ring of Fire.
It’s important to note that earthquakes and volcanoes don’t always occur
because of plate tectonics. Earthquakes can occur along fault lines and
volcanoes can be present on hotspots, like mentioned before about the Hawaiian
Islands. No matter what the cause may be, earthquakes and volcanoes can cause
the death of many people living too close to them.
What I mainly learned about volcanoes and earthquakes is the theory of plate
tectonics. Before I took this class, I had no idea why earthquakes, volcanoes, and
other natural hazards occur. Plate tectonics are a perfect explanation of what
happens on the earth to cause these natural hazards. Not only that, I also learned
the destructive behavior of earthquakes and volcanoes. I also learned the good
things we get from these natural hazards, such as new mineral sources, new
landform developments, energy resources, etc. Knowing how to prepare for our
own kind of natural disaster is definitely a helpful thing also. Because we live in
Utah and have the constant threat of a large earthquake, knowing what we need
to do to survive is a very important thing to learn.