Essay: Earthquakes

Relation of earthquakes to plate boundaries

Earthquakes may happen due to the movement of the tectonic plates. The earth is an active planet which consists of many layers as we go underneath it. The earth consists of tectonic plates which constantly move. This movement is not visible to humans because it is very slow. When the boundaries one plate moves underneath another plate, the collision may cause volcanos to erupt that consist between these plates and hence cause earthquakes. The phenomenon of one plate moving underneath another is called subduction. The effect of these earthquakes can be felt more severely near to the boundaries compared to as you go away from them.

Earthquake depth and plate boundaries

Earthquake depth may go up to 700 kilometers inside the earth. Earth quakes may occur at different depths between two the boundaries of the tectonic plates. If the earthquake was initiated at a depth of 25 kilometers, its effect would be more felt than if it was happening at a depth of 100 kilometers. The earthquake depth is usually determined by identifying the location between the two colliding boundaries where rocks melt at a certain depth underneath the earth surface.

Earthquakes and moving plates

Earthquakes may occur due to a variety of reasons that also include the movement of the tectonic plates. One of the other reason of earthquakes is due to the gases caused by melting lava which may want to find a way out of the earth usually through a volcano which may not be built necessarily due to the collision of two tectonic plates. There can also be an unnatural reason causing earthquakes. One of the reason is the testing of atomic or nuclear bombs deep underneath the earth surface. These explosions may send seismic waves around some radius that could be a cause of earthquakes.