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Convergent boundaries are areas where plates move toward each other and collide. These are also known as compressional or destructive boundaries. Obduction zones occurs when the continental plate is pushed under the oceanic plate, but this is unusual as the relative densities of the tectonic plates favours subduction of the oceanic plate. This ...
A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can be defined by a plane where many earthquakes occur, called the Wadati–Benioff zone. [1]
Comparison of recent and historic earthquakes by energy release. Megathrust earthquakes are large seismic events that take place along convergent plate boundaries, particularly at subduction zones. Examples of subduction zones include the Sumatra and Java trenches, Nankai Trough and Peru–Chile Trench which are frequent sources of these ...
Megathrust earthquakes occur at convergent plate boundaries, where one tectonic plate is forced underneath another. The earthquakes are caused by slip along the thrust fault that forms the contact between the two plates. These interplate earthquakes are the planet's most powerful, with moment magnitudes (M w) that can exceed 9.0.
For purposes of this list, a major plate is any plate with an area greater than 20 million km 2 (7.7 million sq mi) African plate – Tectonic plate underlying Africa – 61,300,000 km 2 (23,700,000 sq mi) Antarctic plate – Major tectonic plate containing Antarctica and the surrounding ocean floor – 60,900,000 km 2 (23,500,000 sq mi)
Earthquakes in Vanuatu are frequent and are sometimes accompanied by tsunami, though these events are not often destructive. The archipelago, which was formerly known as New Hebrides , lies atop a complex and active plate boundary in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
The most damaging earthquakes to affect Ecuador are those associated with faulting within the South American plate, such as the 1949 Ambato earthquake. Earthquakes within the downgoing Nazca plate, such as the M w 7.1 event of August 2010, are generally too deep to cause significant damage in Ecuador although they are felt over a wide area. [3]
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [1] is the scientific theory that Earth's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago.