Jesse Aular [GEOG 1700]

Salt Lake Community College

Spring 2016.

Divergent Plate Boundary

The East Africa Rift Valley is a classic example of this

type of plate boundary. On December 5, 2005, a
strong earthquake rattled East Africa. Measuring 6.8
on the Richter scale, the earthquake was centered
under Lake Tanganyika, the oldest and deepest of the
Rift Valley lakes, and was felt as far away as Nairobi,
the capital of Kenya some 975 kilometers (600 miles)
from the epicenter.

Transform Plate Boundary

Haiti lies right on the boundary of the Caribbean and

North American plates. On 12 January 2010, a
magnitude 7 earthquake hit Haiti at 16:53 local time.
The earthquakes epicenter was 25 km west of Portau-Prince, the capital. The earthquake in Haiti
alleviated built-up stress along the fault, which cuts
across the island.

Convergent Plate Boundary

3 types of convergent plate boundaries

A- Ocean to Continent

Japan - Magnitude 8.1 earthquake strikes Hokkaido

on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 4:50:06 am. The
preliminary location and focal-mechanism of this
earthquake imply that it occurred as the result of
thrust-faulting on the plate interface between the
overriding North American plate and the subducting
Pacific plate. The Hokkaido Earthquake is considered
the largest in 2003.

B- Ocean to Ocean

On December 26, 2004, at 00:58:53 UTC, a

magnitude 9 earthquake hit the Sumatra Andaman
islands in the Indian Ocean. The earthquake caused a
secondary hazard, a tsunami, which amplified
tremendously the casualties and property loss. The
waves reached 18 meters in height and extended
8,000 kilometers from the quake's epicenter. The
Indian Ocean earthquake/tsunami was one of the
biggest catastrophes in recorded history. The India
Plate subducts beneath the Burma Plate, which
carries the Nicobar Islands, the Andaman Islands,
and northern Sumatra. The India Plate sinks deeper
and deeper beneath the Burma Plate until the
increasing temperature and pressure drive volatiles
out of the subducting plate.

C- Continent to Continent

RussiaMagnitude
7.3
earthquake
strikes
Southwestern Siberia on Saturday, September 27,
2003 at 6:33:25 pm. This earthquake resulted from
stresses originating with the collision of the Indian
plate against the Eurasian plate. The collision of the
two major plates has generated the Himalayan
Mountains.

Shield Volcanoes

Shield volcanoes are characterized by broad bases

with gentle slopes. Their shape comes from the very
fluid lava that they excrete. Muana Loa on the big
island of Hawaii is the primary example of an active
shield volcano. It is over 28,000 feet tall from its base
on the ocean floor to its peak. Kiluea, which is also
located on the big island of Hawaii, is also a shield
volcano. Shield volcanoes are responsible for forming
the majority of the mass of the Hawaiian Islands.

Cinder Cone Volcanoes

Cinder cone volcanoes have steeper sides and are

made from fragments of lava. They are often located
on the bases of larger shield volcanoes. On the Big
Island of Hawaii there are a chain of cinder cones on
the southern flank of Mauna Kea. In the background,
Mauna Loas patchwork of dark, recent lava flows
contrast sharply with Mauna Keas grassy surface in
the foreground. The difference between the two
volcanoes is evident along the Saddle Road that runs
horizontally through the picture. There has not been
enough time since Mauna Loas eruptions for plants

to cover the ground. However, Mauna Kea hasn't

erupted in over 4000 years and so is well vegetated.

Composite Volcanoes
A

stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is

a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of
hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. The
large and cone-shaped volcanoes form along plate
boundaries called subduction zones where one of the
Earth's plates moves below another. The sinking
plate melts as it falls back into the Earth's mantle.
Ulawun is one of the most active composite
volcanoes in Papua New Guinea and one of its most
dangerous. It is the highest volcano in the 1000 km
long Bismarck volcanic arc.

The first recorded eruption of Ulawun was in 1700.

Several thousand people live near the volcano.There
have been 22 recorded eruptions since the 1700s.
The last few years have seen almost constant
activity at Ulawun, with frequent small explosions.
Eruptions originate from a central crater. Its
eruptions devastated the NW flank of Ulawun and
modified the summit crater. An eruption in 1980
ejected ash to 60,000 ft and produced pyroclastic
flows which swept all flanks of the volcano and
devastated an area of 20 sq km. The most serious
volcanic hazard at Ulawun volcano is catastrophic
structural collapse, producing an eruption which
could devastate hundreds of sq km in area.

Caldera Volcanoes

When an erupting volcano empties a shallow-level

magma chamber, the edifice of the volcano may
collapse into the voided reservoir, thus forming a
steep, bowl-shaped depression called a caldera.
The 1,080-square-mile Toba caldera in North
Sumatra, Indonesia is the only supervolcano in
existence that can be described as Yellowstone's

"big" sister. About 74,000 years ago, Toba erupted

and ejected several thousand times more material
than erupted from Mount St. Helens in 1980. Some
researchers think that Toba's ancient super eruption
and the global cold spell it triggered might explain a
mystery in the human genome. Our genes suggest
we all come from a few thousand people just tens of
thousands of years ago, instead of from a much
older, bigger lineage as the fossil evidence
testifies. Both could be true if only a few small
groups of humans survived the cold years following
the Toba eruption.

Reflection
Learning about tectonic plates behaviors, and types
has been such a wonderful and rich experience. To
now be able to see the news and understand why
tectonic plates move the way they do and the
consequences it brings, makes me want to make
more educated and geologically smart decisions. Its
very interesting to understand how active faults are,
and more importantly how to be prepared.
Understanding where the plate boundaries are helps
to create a geological expectation of the area, to plan
accordingly, even if its for a short period of time.
Moreover this class has been such a learning
experience that reflects on real problem we are
facing today. Im very please with the outcome, the
activities and projects that allowed me to gain such
knowledge, and the awareness to prepare myself to
make changes that will impact our society. My
favorite topics were, pressure gradient effects on the

atmosphere, in relationship with temperature and the

phenomenon it can create, the rotation of the oceans
or conveyor belt, and also understanding how
electromagnetic energy travels.