Natural disasters in Japan - Japan: country in the ring of fire

12 important questions on Natural disasters in Japan - Japan: country in the ring of fire

How much do these plates move per year?

A couple of centimeters every year.

There ar 4 types of plate movements. Can you name them?

They move apart or towards each other. The slide sideways past each other or under each other

Can you name two kind of plates? Which one is the heaviest?

The oceanic plates and the continental plates. The oceanic plate is the heaviest.
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What happens when a continental plate and a oceanic plate collide?

The heavier oceanic plates is forced down under the lighter continental plate at a depth of several hundred kilometers. Creating trenches, sea/earth quakes and volcanic eruptions

Can you tell me how a volcano is created at the ocean floor?

The oceanic plates diving under the continental plate (=subduction)
the oceanic crust begins to melt. Molten rock (= magma) is formed.
Magma rises to the Earth's surface and breaks though it.
this creates a volcano

Japan is located on the border of 3 plates. Can you name them and tell me what kind of plates they are?

The Eurasian plate (= continental plate)
The Pacific plate (= oceanic plate)
The Philippine plate (= oceanic plate)

What is the movement of the 3 plates in Japan?
What does it create?

The 2 oceanic plates are forced under (=subduction) under the Eurasian plate.
It creates deep trenches in the ocean

How do earthquakes develop?

The movement of the plates is not smooth.
The tension in the Earth's crust gradually increases.
Eventually the pressure is released in an explosion of energy
This causes earthquakes

The earth's crust is changed by two kind of forces. Can you name them?

From the outside (= exogenic force)
From the inside (= endogenic force)

The earth's crust consists of several plates. What are the cracks of faults between those plates called?

Geological boundaries

What happens at the divergent boundaries?

The plates drift apart.
Here magma rises.
On the seabed the magma cools down and creates a mountain range on the seabed. This is called a .....(ridge?)

What happens at convergent boundaries?

The plates float towards each other.
One plat dives below the other plate.
this causes deep trenches (a deep gorge, a deep canyon) into the see

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