Identify plate boundary's locations where earthquake may occur.
Convergent Plate Boundaries
Divergent Plate Boundaries
Transform Plate Boundaries
Earthquakes can occur at all boundary types
Convergent Plate Boundaries (where two plates are colliding):
- The Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate (along the west coast of North and South America)
- The boundary between the Pacific Plate and the Eurasian Plate (along the eastern edge of Asia, including Japan)
- The boundary between the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate (including the Himalayan mountain range)
Divergent Plate Boundaries (where two plates are moving away from each other):
- The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean)
- The East African Rift Zone (through eastern Africa)
- The boundary between the Arabian Plate and the African Plate (in the Red Sea)
Transform Plate Boundaries (where two plates are sliding past each other):
- The San Andreas Fault in California, USA (between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate)
- The North Anatolian Fault in Turkey (between the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian Plate)
- The Alpine Fault in New Zealand (between the Pacific Plate and the Australian Plate)
- The Dead Sea Transform in the Middle East (between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate)
Earthquakes can occur at all boundary types, as the movement of plates can create stress and pressure that is released as seismic activity.