Distribution of Epicenters,

Volcanoes and Mountain Ranges

Lesson 1 – Part 1
Lesson Objective

• Describe and relate the distribution of active volcanoes,

earthquake epicenters, and major belts to Plate Tectonic Theory
Philippine
Volcanoes
There are 53 active
volcanoes in the
Philippines

Central Philippines = 15 volcanoes

Luzon Island = 33 volcanoes
Mindanao = 20 volcanoes
North Luzon = 6 volcanoes

The Philippines belong to the Pacific Ring of

Fire where the oceanic Philippine plate and
several micro-plates are subducting along the
Philippine Trench to the East and Luzon, Sulu
and several other small Trenches to the West
Pacific Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire dominates the

Pacific Ocean.

It's a string of at least 450 active and dormant

volcanoes that form a semi-circle, or horse
shoe, around the Philippine Sea plate, the
Pacific Plate, Juan de Fuca and Cocos plates,
and the Nazca Plate. .
Many volcanoes in the Ring of Fire were
created through a process of subduction. Subduction happens when tectonic plates
And most of the planet's subduction zones shift, and one plate is shoved under
happen to be located in the Ring of Fire. another.
When and where were the worst earthquakes in the Ring of Fire?
Subduction
• This movement of the ocean floor produces a "mineral
transmutation," which leads to the melting and solidification of
magma - that is, the formation of volcanoes.
• Basically, when a "downgoing" oceanic plate is shoved into a
hotter mantle plate, it heats up, volatile elements mix, and this
produces the magma.
• The magma then rises up through the overlying plate and spurts
out at the surface.
Subduction Process
 How are Trenches formed?
• Trenches are formed by
subduction, a geophysical
process in which two or more of
Earth's tectonic plates converge
and the older, denser plate is
pushed beneath the lighter plate
and deep into the mantle, causing
the seafloor and outermost crust
(the lithosphere) to bend and form
a steep, V-shaped depression.
Trenches
• Trenches are long, narrow depressions on the seafloor that
form at the boundary of tectonic plates where one plate is
pushed, or subducts, beneath another.
• Ocean trenches are steep depressions in the deepest parts of
the ocean [where old ocean crust from one tectonic plate is
pushed beneath another plate, raising mountains, causing
earthquakes, and forming volcanoes on the seafloor and on
land.
 Earth
vs.
Egg
Earth radius = 6370 km
Lithosphere (plate) thickness = 100 km ~2%
What % of Earth radius is lithosphere?
63.7%
Egg radius = 0.95 inch
Egg shell thickness = 0.015 inch 2%
What % of egg radius is shell? 63.33%
How do these compare?
 Plate tectonics
• Plates are driven by cooling of Earth.
• Gravity provides additional force to move plates.

Modified from USGS Graphics

Convection is like a boiling pot.

 Plate tectonics
Convection in Earth’s interior is like a boiling pot.

Modified from USGS Graphics

The heated soup rises to the surface, spreads and begins to cool, and then
sinks back to the bottom of the pot where it is reheated and rises again.
 What are the tectonic plates?

Lithosphere
• Is the ~100-km-thick surface of Earth;
• Contains crust and upper mantle;
• Is rigid and brittle;
• Fractures to produce earthquakes.
 What is the asthenosphere?

USGS Graphics

Asthenosphere:
• Is the hotter upper mantle below the
lithospheric plate;
• Can flow like silly putty; and
• Is a viscoelastic solid, NOT liquid!!
 Tectonic Plates
There are a dozen large lithospheric plates (smaller plates not shown).
Some plates have continents; some don’t. All are in motion.

Question: What evidence is there for these plate boundaries?

Earthquake
Epicenter
Epicenters
• The epicenter is the point on the Earth’s
surface immediately above the center of
underground movement sensed as an
earthquake.
• This movement sends out shock wave of
many kinds, which move at different
speeds.
• The different waves can be detected by
sensitive instruments called seismograph.
Seismicity & Distribution of Earthquakes
There are thousands of small earthquakes every day
“Strong” earthquakes (~M7) occur once a month. >M8 occur about once/year.

Where are the deepest earthquakes?

To calculate the epicenter’s location, seismologist use the Triangulation
method
Earth’s Internal Structure
▪ Modern technology has allowed
the identification of materials in
the interior Earth through
seismic waves.
▪ There are two types of waves
travelling through Earth: p-wave
and s-wave
▪ p-wave travel fast through both
solid and liquids
▪ s-wave travel slower than the p-
waves.
How to compute for the distance of the
epicenter
Time difference in the

Recording Station arrival time of P-wave Distance of

and S-wave epicenter
(seconds) from the station
(km)
Batangas 44.8
Puerto Princesa 32
Davao 38.4
The distance of the epicenter can be computed using the formula:
Where: d = distance (km)
Td = Time difference in the arrival time of P-wave and S-wave (seconds)
This formula is suited because 8 seconds is the interval between the times of arrival of the P-wave and S-wave
at a distance of 100 km.
World Seismicity & Plate Tectonics
Notice that earthquakes coincide with plate boundaries,
and the deepest quakes (blue) are in subduction zones.

Question: Where would you expect to see volcanoes?

Modified from USGS Graphics

Seismicity, Tectonics, and Volcanoes
This map shows that the locations of subaerial (above
sea level) volcanoes correlate with earthquake locations.

Modified from USGS Graphics

Seismicity, Tectonics, & Volcanoes
The Earth is divided into relatively stable regions
bounded by linear zones of earthquakes and volcanoes.

Modified from USGS Graphics

 Tectonic Plates
How fast are the plates moving?
Plates move 1-10 centimeters per year (≈ rate of fingernail growth).

Modified from USGS Graphics

 Tectonic Plates
What is the motion of the plates relative to the
North American Plate?
(remember…the map is flat, but the globe is not.)

Image from
EarthScope
Voyager, Jr.