UNIT II:

Along the Plate Edge

Prepared by: Mr. Reyvan R. Alegre

PACIFIC RING OF FIRE
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
PACIFIC RING OF FIRE
• is frequented by geologic activities and other
associated phenomena such as volcanic eruptions,
earthquakes, faulting, and tsunamis, among others.
• it is where more than half of the world’s volcanoes
are found.
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
MOUNT PARICUTIN
• a cinder cone volcano located in Mexico
• only volcano that was studied from its birth in 1943 to its
extinction in 1952.
• it started as a fissure on a cornfield that swelled into a 50 m
tall volcano within 24 hours.
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
TSUNAMI IN JAPAN
• a 9.0-magnitued earthquake
• quake originated 25 km beneath the seafloor as a result of a
thrust faulting near a subduction zone.
• the quake generated a devastating tsunami, which affected
many areas along the Japanese coast and felt by nearby
countries.
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
TSUNAMI IN JAPAN
• a 9.0-magnitued earthquake
• quake originated 25 km beneath the seafloor as a result of a
thrust faulting near a subduction zone.
• the quake generated a devastating tsunami, which affected
many areas along the Japanese coast and felt by nearby
countries.
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
MOUNT PINATUBO
• lies on subduction zone where the Eurasian Plate descends
below the Philippine Sea Plate at the Manila Trench.
• was noted as the second most powerful eruption of the
twentieth century
• was tought to be inactive for more than 500 years
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
QUAKE IN NEW ZEALAND
• a 6.3-magnitude earthquake
• caused by the movement of a 15-km long shallow fault along
the southern edge of Christchurch, New Zealand
L2 TRACING THE RING OF FIRE
CHILE
• has had the largest earthquakes in history; 8.8 -magnitude
quake on Feb. 27, 2010 ; 8.2-magnitude quake on April
01, 2014 ; 9.5-magnitude quake generating an 11.5m
high tsunami ; 6.7- magnitude quake on March 16, 2014
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
Tectonic plates move on top of the asthenosphere at a rate
between 1 and 10 cm/year. These plates move in three ways:

• Move apart (DIVERGE)

• Toward each other (CONVERGE)
• Move past one another (TRANSFORM)
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
DIVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
• when two plates move away from each other, a gap or rift
between them is created.
• if the gap widens, it then eventually evolves into a rift valley.
• produces mid-oceanic ridges between oceanic plates (the
mountain ranges formed underwater)
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
• occur when two plates slide toward each other and form
either a subduction zone or an orogenic belt

subduction zone – if one plate moves underneath the other

orogenic belt – if two plates simply collide and compress ; a
region of deformed rocks
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY

SUBDUCTION ZONE – the descending oceanic

plate beings to melt upon contact with the asthenosphere.
The molten material begins to rise, creating a chain of
volcanoes.

Example: oceanic-continental / oceanic-oceanic collision

 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY
Continental plates collision – continental crusts buckles
and rocks pile up, creating mountain ranges. The Alps in
Europe is formed from the convergence of the African Plate
and Eurasian Plate and the Himalayas in Asia is the result of
the collision between the Indian Plate and Eurasian Plate.
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY

ALP
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
CONVERGENT PLATE BOUNDARY

HIMALAYAS
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY
• plates slide against one another in opposite directions. No
mountains or volcanoes are produced.
• earthquakes are produced and release massive amounts of
energy.

Earthquakes – shaking of Earth as a result of the breaking or shifting of

the rocks of the tectonic plates, which releases seismic energy.
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY
3 Types of Faults:
• Normal fault
• Reverse fault
• Strike-slip fault
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY
Dip-slip – refers to the movement of faults along the angle
of the fault plane. The angle of movement is called the dip,
while the movement is the slip. (classified as normal fault or
reverse fault)
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY
Normal-fault – is a dip-slip fault where a block that sits on a fault
plane, called the hanging wall, slips downward with respect to the
footwall along the dip angle.
Reverse-fault – is another type of dip-slip fault where the block of
Earth’s crust pushes upward and along the dip angle.
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
TRANSFORM PLATE BOUNDARY
Strike-slip – nearly vertical fault planes or surfaces slide in
parallel but opposite directions.
“Example: San Andreas Fault in California, USA”
Oblique-slip – is a combination of a strike-slip and a dip-slip.
Blocks of Earth’s crust slide horizontally (similar to a strike-slip) and
obliquely up or down from each other (like a dip-slip).
 PLATE BOUNDARIES
L2 and INTERACTIONS
L2 EARTHQUAKES
Seismic waves – is the form of energy that travels
through Earth during earthquake

Focus (hypocenter) – the point within Earth where the

rocks break and where seismic energy is first released;
it is found within the fault plane
L2 EARTHQUAKES
Epicenter – the
point on the crust of
Earth directly above
the focus
L2 EARTHQUAKES
Tsunami – large ocean waves that can be generated
through underwater earthquakes associated with oceanic-
continental subduction causing a vertical movement of the
seafloor especially those greater than magnitude 7 and
whose focus is less than 30 km
 L2
waves are oscillations 
(or disturbances) of the
water surface that can
be observed in any
water basin like rivers,
lakes, seas,
and oceans. For
a wave to exist there
must be an initial
equilibrium state, which
is perturbed by an initial
disturbance and
compensated by a
restoring force.
L2
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
Mountains – are large landforms that rise well above
the ground and have steep slopes and a peak generally
higher than a hill.

Orogenesis – refers to the process of forming mountains

and mountain ranges. It involves the collision of plates
and forces of compression.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
FOLD MOUNTAINS – are formed through
plate convergence, tectonic plates pushed together.
Huge forces of compression FOLD the crust to
develop mountain ranges.
Example: Himalayas in Asia
Mountain ranges can also form when an oceanic plate
subducts beneath a continental plate.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
VOLCANIC MOUNTAIN RANGES
- Mountain ranges formed from volcanic
activities.
Example: ISLANDS OF HAWAII
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
EROSION-FORMED MOUNTAIN
RANGES
- formed because of rock erosion or
weathering.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
Weathering describes the
breaking down or dissolving of
rocks and minerals on the
surface of the Earth. Water, ice,
acids, salts, plants, animals, and
changes in temperature are all
agents of weathering. Once a
rock has been broken down, a
process called erosion
transports the bits of rock and
mineral away.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
DOME MOUNTAIN RANGES
- formed from upwarping of tectonic plates
and are not accompanied by the collision of
plate boundaries.
upwarping - the warping or bending upwards of
the earth's crust.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
FAULT-BLOCK MOUNTAIN RANGES
- movement of normal faults causes tensional forces and
can uplift large blocks of crust to form fault-block
mountains. GRABEN – block that slides down as the
crust forms cracks. HORST – crustal blocks that do not
slide down.
 MOUNTAINS and
L2 MOUNTAIN RANGES
 GETTING READY
L2 FOR EARTHQUAKES
 GETTING READY
L2 FOR EARTHQUAKES
 GETTING READY
L2 FOR EARTHQUAKES