Definition

In the aftermath of an earthquake, aftershocks can be

dangerous, in that already weakened buildings are likely to
collapse.

Most of the deaths caused by an earthquake result from falling

masonry and buildings.

Threats to life also occur when gas and electricity lines and
water
mains are disrupted so that there is also the danger of
uncontrolled fires and the spread of disease.
Term
The Caribbean Plate
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
When the rocks cannot accommodate the stresses any longer,
they move and release energy.

This energy may cause extreme displacement of rocks, which

shift or move, sometimes leaving a trench along the fault lines
- with adverse consequences for the population, particularly in
built-up areas.

And this dislocation may occur on ocean

floors as well.
Term
The Caribbean Plate
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
An earthquake is a vibration or tremor that
occurs in the crust when there is a release of energy by rocks.

This happens when there is a steady build-up of

pressure in the rocks (through plates riding over each
other at convergent margins, sliding past each other at
transform margins or being pushed away by up welling
magma at divergent margins).
Term
Earthquakes
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
The theory of plate tectonics states that the
Earth's crust is composed of several large slabs or plates of
rigid crustal materials and some smaller ones, which are in
continuous movement.

Both oceans and land masses may be 'carried' on a plate.

The Caribbean Plate is one of the smaller plates.
Where one plate meets another, at a plate margin or
boundary, several kinds of tectonic activities (movement or
displacement or rocks) may result.
This explains why the Caribbean is one of the
world's 'hotspots' for volcanic and seismic activity.
Term
Theory of Plate Tectonics
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
The constant grinding and scraping of rocks against each
other also
results in the deposition of a great deal of sediments in the
area.
Sometimes these form islands that are flat and low lying, but
this is nevertheless part of mountain-building activity.
Term
Convergent Margins
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
1. The transform boundary in the northern Caribbean
was once a convergent margin with active volcanoes.
2. There is a small divergent margin growing in the
Cayman Trench area, complicating the already
complex geology of the region.
Term
Convergent Margins
Choose answer
True or False
6 of 21

Definition
Compared to volcanoes on divergent margins (e.g. Hawaii),
where lava continuously and quietly erupts, volcanoes on
convergent margins erupt with great force.

This is related to the type of magma that develops at each

margin. At convergent margins the
Term
Volcanoes
Choose answer
True or False
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Definition
3. The boundaries between the Nazca, Cocos and
Caribbean plates are as yet not clearly defined.

4. The convergent margin along the Lesser Antilles is

still posing questions to geologists. It is a double island
arc with mountainous, volcanic islands in the inner
arc (Martinique, Montserrat, Dominica) and flat,
low-lying limestone islands in the outer arc (Barbados,
Anguilla).
Choose matching term
The Caribbean Plate
The Nazca Plate
The Mazda Plate
The Pacific Plate

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Definition
Volcanic and earthquake activity is characteristic of
such margins and they have been found in all oceans.
The rocks are continually being pushed by the upwelling
magma,
resulting in earthquakes.

Choose matching term

Subduction Zones
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Transform Margins
Divergent Margins
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Definition
5. The centre of active vulcanicity seems to
be shifting southwards, so that Saba is thought to be
now extinct and Kick 'em Jenny, a submarine volcano
just north of Grenada, is increasingly active.
Vulcanicity describes the processes involved in volcanic
activity.

6. The Caribbean Plate is thus a highly active tectonic

'hotspot'.

Choose matching term

The Mazda Plate
The Caribbean Plate
The Nazca Plate
The Pacific Plate
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Definition
The many holes, crevices and cracks in the surface rocks
allow some of this magma to flow back up to the surface to
form volcanoes.

Along convergent margins, the tremendous pressures

generated
by rocks exerting great force against each other inevitably
results in earthquakes as the rocks move suddenly to
accommodate the stress.

Choose matching term

Shields
Convergent Margins
Transform Margins
Collision Margin
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Definition
10. The western edge of the Caribbean Plate in the Pacific
Ocean off the west coast of Central America is even
more active than the eastern margin.
The convergent margins in the west record higher subduction
rates than along the Lesser Antilles and consequently
earthquakes

are much stronger.

Choose matching term
The Mazda Plate
The Pacific Plate
The Nazca Plate
The Caribbean Plate
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Definition
The twin phenomena of seismic activity and
volcanic activity are both explained by the theory of
plate tectonics.

Seismic activity describes any Earth movement caused by

the Earth's tectonic plates. Only high-level seismic activity
leads to earthquakes.

Choose matching term

The Phenomenon of Plate Tectonics
The Caribbean Plate
The Caribbean Plate
Divergent Margins
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Definition
8. The meeting of convergent and transform margins
at the southern margin of the plate is responsible for
the extreme faulting and unstable nature of rocks in Trinidad
and northern Venezuela bringing petroleum,
natural gas and pitch-bearing rocks to the surface.
(Trinidad is on the South American Plate and Tobago
on the Caribbean Plate.)

9. There are about 17 active volcanoes in the Eastern

Caribbean, all connected at a subterranean level
along the plate margin. Eruptions in one volcano can
trigger eruptions in other islands
Choose matching term
The Pacific Plate
The Nazca Plate
The Caribbean Plate
The Mazda Plate
14 of 21
Matching questions
Click a definition to match it with a term
Select from list below
The Phenomenon of Plate Tectonics
Transform Margins
The Caribbean Plate
Convergent Margins
Divergent Margins
Volcanoes
Earthquakes

1. These represent sites where crust is being consumed or pushed

back down into the mantle, a process known as subduction.
Along these margins, plates collide and one plate rides over
the other, forcing it downwards into the subduction zone.
The descending plate is crushed as it grinds together with the
other plates that are pushing over it.
This friction generates tremendous heat, enough to melt the crustal
rocks, and so as the plate descends into the mantle the rock material
becomes molten.

2. An earthquake leaves a fracture or fault in rocks - a line of weakness

where future earthquakes are likely to recur.
There are major faults at plate margins, and in the Caribbean the
convergent and transform margins are the sites of numerous fault
lines, indicating weakness in the rocks and areas of crustal
instability.
In addition to tsunamis, earthquakes and faulting can result in
landslides, rock slides and mudslides that may cause
much more damage than the earthquake itself.

3. Sea-floor spreading was first detected at these margins, leading to

the development of the theory of plate tectonics.
In the Atlantic Ocean new crust upwells as magma from the mantle,
and then flows west and east, pushing older rocks in front of it.
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, running the entire length of the Atlantic
Ocean from the northern to the southern hemisphere is a line of
submarine volcanoes and fissures that mark the site of a divergent
margin.

4. The presence of deep ocean trenches off Cayman,

Puerto Rico and Hispaniola indicate major plate
boundaries with the potential for serious earthquakes
of 7.5 and higher on the Richter scale or MMS capable of generating
tsunamis.
 A tsunami is a mighty wall of water traveling at great
speeds from the site of an undersea earthquake.

5. Volcanoes are found on both divergent and convergent

plate margins.
In the Caribbean, the two convergent
margins are the sites of both active and dormant
volcanoes.

6. Although earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are

uncommon - much less prevalent than hurricanes in
terms of their effects on Caribbean communities, when
they do occur they are often extremely destructive.
Dormant volcanoes have not been active for a
considerable period of time, but are still considered
capable of erupting.
The twin phenomena of seismic activity and
volcanic activity are both explained by the theory of
plate tectonics.

7. Where plates slide past each other pressures build up in the rocks in
each plate and earthquake activity results when the rocks move
suddenly to relieve the stress
Normally only seismic activity is found at transform plate margins.
The San Andreas Fault along the coast of western North America is
an extensive transform margin.
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