answersLogoWhite

0

Earthquakes are the planets way of relieving stress.

Earthquakes can occur at all types of plate boundaries, however the larger earthquakes tend to occur at transform and convergent boundaries. At these plate boundaries, one plate gets pushed under or into (convergent) or past (transform) the other. As this happens the two plates can become locked in place due to friction. This causes deformation of the rockmass around the boundary as the plates continue trying to move. As the stress builds up and the amount of deformation increases, the amount of energy stored in the rocks also increases (this is a lot like a compressed spring).

Ultimately the stress will get so large it will exceed the frictional resistance and shear strength of the rock at the plate boundary causing a sudden movement. This allows all the energy to escape in one go in the form of seismic waves causing an earthquake.

As the majority of stress within the earth's lithosphere build up at plate boundaries this is also where the majority of earthquakes occur.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What plate boundary was the Shensi Earthquake?

Convergence plate boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Indian Plate.


What type of plate boundary caused the Chile earthquake in 1960?

transform boundary


What type of plate boundary was the Andreanof earthquake?

Convergent


What was the plate boundary on the San Fernando earthquake?

convergant


What type of plate boundary does an earthquake occur at?

stomer


Was the 2011 Japan earthquake a transform earthquake?

No, the 2011 Japan earthquake was a megathrust earthquake, specifically a subduction zone earthquake. It occurred along the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, where the Pacific Plate is subducting beneath the North American Plate.


What are the kinds of earthquake?

highly movable plate boundary quakes


What boundary did the earthquake in libson Portugal 1755 occur on?

The 1755 Lisbon earthquake occurred at the boundary between the African Plate and the Eurasian Plate. This boundary is known as a convergent boundary, where the two plates are colliding, causing seismic activity.


What type of plate caused 1994 Northridge earthquake?

The 1994 Northridge earthquake occurred due to the movement along the Northridge blind thrust fault, which is a reverse fault associated with the Pacific Plate sliding northwest relative to the North American Plate. This earthquake was a result of the tectonic forces between these two plates.


Was they Haiti earthquake caused by constructive plate boundaries?

No. The Haitian earthquake was caused by a transform boundary.


Is the UK located on a plate boundary?

No because UK is no where located to a plate boundary so that is the reason why people in UK don't have Earthquake or Volcanoes.


What boundary did the northridge earthquake occur on?

i think it happened on the north american plate and the pacific plate