INDIAN GEOGRAPHY

Detailed explanation-1: -The island archipelago of Tonga sits at the junction of two major tectonic plates – the Indo-Australian plate in the west and the Pacific Plate in the east.

Detailed explanation-2: -Sumatra is at the boundary between two tectonic plates. The ocean floor southwest of Sumatra is part of the Indian/Australian plate, while Sumatra and the other islands of Indonesia and Thailand are part of the Eurasian plate (see Figure 1).

Detailed explanation-3: -The Alpine Fault is the dominant structure defining the Australian-Pacific plate boundary in the South Island of New Zealand. It runs as a single structure for over 500 km between the Puysegur Trench in the south and the Marlborough Fault System in the northeast.

Detailed explanation-4: -This was around 56 to 34 million years ago when the mish mash of boundaries between the two plates started. In the southern part of the South Island, the Australian is subducted below the Pacific Plate and in the North Island the Pacific plate is subducted below the Australian Plate.