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Subduction zones are locations where crustal plates are being forced down into the mantle below other crustal plates. These movements are not uniform, but instead occur in discrete events. This is because friction causes the plates to lock in position until the stress exceeds the shear strength of the fault zone. This accumulation of stress causes deformations in the rock mass around the locked fault which is suddenly released when the fault slips.

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why do earthquakes occur at subduction zonez

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Q: Why are large powerful earthquakes generated at subduction zones?
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What natural disasters occur along a subduction zone?

As for I only know, there's only earthquakes and volcanic eruptions...please help!


Which is the most powerful EarthquakeVolcanoBlizzardHurricaneTornadoPlague or Sandstorm?

In terms of energy released a large earthquakes is the strongest of those.


Why is Haiti vulnerable to more earthquakes?

The tectonic factors that create the Caribbean islands and haiti are also what causes them to be at risk. Haiti is at the intersection of the caribbean plate and the North American plate with a sinistral (left lateral) strike slip fault to the west and a convergent subduction boundary to the East. Stresses from this oblique convergence will cause earthquakes along the near surface due to the strike slip fault and deeper plutonic earthquakes due to the subduction zone. Why is there a large amount of damage from earthquakes in Haiti? Their buildings aren't made of strong enough materials to withstand it. They also don't have the funds to properly build them.


When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate .?

When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate, the oceanic plate slips under the continental one and into the mantle in a process called subduction. The area will be prone to large earthquakes and tsunamis. A chain of volcanoes will form on the continent.


Why do you think earthquakes are frequent in Japan?

The islands of Japan are located in a volcanic zone on the Pacific Ring of Fire. They are primarily the result of large oceanic movements occurring over hundreds of millions of years from the mid-Silurian to the Pleistocene as a result of the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the continental Amurian Plate and Okinawa Plate to the south, and subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate to the north.

Related questions

Where do very deep large magnitude earthquakes occur?

At convergent boundaries where subduction is occurring.


A large water wave called a can be generated by underwater earthquakes?

It is a tsunami.


What natural disasters occur along a subduction zone?

As for I only know, there's only earthquakes and volcanic eruptions...please help!


Why are there a pontential for large earthquakes off the coast of the Pacific Northwest?

Because of the Cascadian subduction zone. Since this zone is a very long sloping fault going from Northern Vancouver Island, Canada to Sacramento, California, it can produce very large earthquakes, since earthquake size is proportional to fault size. Search Cascadian Subduction Zone for more information....


Which is the most powerful EarthquakeVolcanoBlizzardHurricaneTornadoPlague or Sandstorm?

In terms of energy released a large earthquakes is the strongest of those.


What type of plate boundary produces strong earthquakes?

Any type of plate boundary can cause an earthquake. That said, areas along convergent, divergent, and transform tectonic plate boundaries are the most likely places for earthquakes to occur.


Why is Haiti vulnerable to more earthquakes?

The tectonic factors that create the Caribbean islands and haiti are also what causes them to be at risk. Haiti is at the intersection of the caribbean plate and the North American plate with a sinistral (left lateral) strike slip fault to the west and a convergent subduction boundary to the East. Stresses from this oblique convergence will cause earthquakes along the near surface due to the strike slip fault and deeper plutonic earthquakes due to the subduction zone. Why is there a large amount of damage from earthquakes in Haiti? Their buildings aren't made of strong enough materials to withstand it. They also don't have the funds to properly build them.


How earthquakes generate tsunamis?

The earthquakes that generate tsunamis usually occur at locations known as subduction zones, where one tectonic plate slides under another. The plates will generally snag as they move and build up stress, which is periodically released in the form of earthquakes. Large subduction zone earthquakes cause sections of the sea floor to move up or down, which displaces the water above, triggering tsunamis. Earthquakes can also cause tsunamis indirectly by causing underwater landslides or landslide into water.


What type of boundary has the most earthquakes with high magnitudes?

Convergent boundaries where large scale thrust faulting occurs tend to have the largest magnitude earthquakes. For wxample the subduction boundary between the Pacific plate and the South American plate was responsible for the largest magnitude earthquake ever recorded (the magnitude 9.5 Valdivia earthquake that occurred in 1960 in Chile).


Can scientist predict large earthquakes?

Scientists are able to predict large earthquakes to a certain extent. With the use of certain statistical methods, many earthquakes are able to be predicted.


How often should large earthquakes happen?

Large earthquakes - scientists predict they should happen every 80 years.


When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate .?

When an oceanic plate converges with a continental plate, the oceanic plate slips under the continental one and into the mantle in a process called subduction. The area will be prone to large earthquakes and tsunamis. A chain of volcanoes will form on the continent.