Plate Tectonics in Your country

Plate Tectonics in Your country

*If you do not have a plate boundary in or near your country explain what is happening off the coast of BC….Hawaii, Central USA, Eastern USA, South Africa…There may be a few others

You are going to look at how plate tectonics is impacting your country.

1) You will need to find a map of the plates of the world? What plate is your country located on? Is it split over two plates? Is it located near a plate boundary? If yes…Which one? Include at least one relevant picture in this section.

The tectonics of Indonesia can be very confusing as they are quite complex.  There is a meeting point of several tectonic plates. Indonesia is located between two continental plates which are the the Eurasian Plate and Australian Plate. It is also between two oceanic plates which are the the Philippine Sea Plate and Pacific Plate. The subduction of the Indian oceanic plate beneath the Eurasian continental plate formed the volcanic arc in western Indonesia! That area is one of the most seismically active areas on the planet with a long history of powerful eruptions and earthquakes. This chain of active volcanoes formed Sumatra, Java, Bali, and Nusa Tenggara islands,

Because there are so many plates near Indonesia i decided to do a bit of research on the Eurasian plate. The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Asia and Europe.The eastern side is a boundary is the Eurasian and  the north  is the North American plate. Then there is a boundary with the Philippine Sea Plate to the south of it.The southerly side is a boundary with the African Plate to the west. This westerly side is a divergent boundary with the North American Plate. In 1973 the volcano of Icelandic island was caused by the north american plate and Eurasian plate moving apart. Thus the reason there is a result of a divergent plate boundary force.
There can be many hazards associated with diverging plates. When plates move apart magma rises which creates many small earthquakes and volcanoes. Usually the earthquake is underground in water so many people don't notice (take an example of Indonesia). Yet in some places its on land and can be very scary! Mostly a concern to Icelanders because the mid ocean ridge actually comes to the surface there!

2) Research a little bit about the plate that your country is located on. In which direction it is moving? How quickly is it moving? What plates is it currently interating with? In which way (converging, diverging, transform)?

3) What are the features that form as a result of the plate boundaries and plate movement occuring in or near your country? (ie if you have oceanic-oceanic convergence what forms? If it is divergent what forms? Subduction?)

The Eurasian plate and its partner the American plate are divergent boundaries. How did it come to be? When two plates are moving away from each other it is a divergent plate boundary. Both plates were driven apart and now are divergent plate boundary! Along these boundaries, magma rises from deep within the Earth and erupts to form new crust on the lithosphere( which caused the Icelandic Island)!

4) Describe the associated hazards that occur as a result of the plate boundaries. Ie. Earthquakes/Volcanoes.

5) Research folds and faults within your country…. …Find examples and pictures.
The Indonesian island of Sumatra is located in a highly seismic area. Sumatra has a large strike slip fault! It is known as the Great Sumatran Fault. This fault runs along the entire island! This fault zone accommodates most of the strike-slip motion associated with the convergence between the Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates.