GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -About 80% of earthquakes occur where plates are pushed together, called convergent boundaries. Another form of convergent boundary is a collision where two continental plates meet head-on. Since neither plate is stronger than the other, they crumple and are pushed up.

Detailed explanation-2: -Transform boundaries typically produce large, shallow-focus earthquakes. Although earthquakes do occur in the central regions of plates, these regions do not usually have large earthquakes.

Detailed explanation-3: -Over 80 per cent of large earthquakes occur around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, an area known as the ‘Ring of Fire’; this where the Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the surrounding plates. The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.

Detailed explanation-4: -At a convergent boundary between two plates of oceanic lithosphere, the older, denser oceanic plate will always subduct, which will cause earthquakes and form volcanic isles.

Detailed explanation-5: -A divergent boundary occurs when two tectonic plates move away from each other. Along these boundaries, earthquakes are common and magma (molten rock) rises from the Earth’s mantle to the surface, solidifying to create new oceanic crust. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of divergent plate boundaries.