ACTIVITIES ALONG

PLATE BOUNDARIES
Q U A RT E R 1
• Geologists have long realized that earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions do not occur at random locations on Earth.

• In fact, geologists have first determined the margin of the plates by

plotting the frequency of earthquakes and volcanic activities on a
world map (Figure 1.20).
• Earthquakes are violent shakings of the Earth’s surface that are
caused by the sudden release of stored energy in rocks. This energy
travels outward in all directions from its source as seismic waves.

• The location inside the Earth where an earthquake begins is called

the focus. The point at the Earth's surface directly above the focus is
called the epicenter. The strongest shaking happens at the epicenter.
• Each year, more than a million earthquakes occur worldwide. Most
of these are so small that people do not feel the shaking. But some
are large enough that people feel them, and a few of those are so
large that they cause significant damage.

• Earthquakes can cause damage to things like buildings, bridges,

and roads. Earthquakes can cause landslides and mudslides, too. If
a large earthquake happens under the ocean it can cause a tsunami
- a giant ocean wave or series of waves.

• Scientists can figure out whether an earthquake is likely to happen

in a place by studying plate tectonics, the faults underground, and
the history of the area's earthquakes. However,
unlike weather events, earthquakes can not be forecast ahead of
time.
• Similarly, volcanoes are found at different types of plate
boundaries. Volcanoes are vents (or openings) in the crust
through which magma escape to reach Earth’s surface.

• Most of volcanoes are situated along mid-ocean ridges but

many of the recorded devastating volcanic eruptions have
occurred along convergent boundaries.
• Presently, the Pacific Plate is subducting northwest under the
North American Plate (Figure 1.21).
• The geographical location of the Philippines makes it susceptible to
natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The
Philippines resides within the Pacific Ring of Fire (also called
Circum-Pacific Belt), the path along the Pacific Ocean that
contains about 75% of the Earth’s volcanoes and where
approximately 90% of the Earth’s earthquakes occur.

• The Pacific Ring of Fire outline a series of overlapping boundaries

(mostly convergent) between several tectonic plates such as the
Eurasian Plate, Pacific Plate, Indo-Australian Plate, North
American Plate, Juan de Fuca Plate, Cocos Plate, and Philippine
Plate.
• As you have learned , plate interactions can cause
earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, which in turn can
trigger Tsunamis.

A tsunami is a series of ocean waves that sends surges of

water, sometimes reaching heights of over 100 feet (30.5
meters), onto land. These walls of water can cause
widespread destruction when they crash ashore.
• These awe-inspiring waves are typically caused by large,
undersea earthquakes at tectonic plate boundaries. When the ocean
floor at a plate boundary rises or falls suddenly, it displaces the
water above it and launches the rolling waves that will become a
tsunami (Figure 1.25a).

• Most tsunamis–about 80 percent–happen within the Pacific

Ocean’s “Ring of Fire” a geologically active area where tectonic
shifts make volcanoes and earthquakes common.

• Tsunamis race across the sea at up to 500 miles (805 kilometers)

an hour—about as fast as a jet airplane. At that pace, they can
cross the entire expanse of the Pacific Ocean in less than a day.
More than 1,500 people died in Rikuzentakata, one of several towns eradicated
by a tsunami that hit Japan.
 FOLLOW-UP!

1. What are the forces that drive plate motion?

2. How is the plate motion related to the

occurrence and frequency of seismic and
volcanic activities

3. What are tsunamis? How are tsunamis

generated?
 ASSIGNMENT

• Study in advance the ff:

1. Driving Mechanism of Plate Motion

2. Evidence for Plate Tectonics