DISTRIBUTION OF

VOLCANOES, EARTHQUAKE
EPICENTERS AND MOUNTAIN
RANGES
 OBJECTIVES:

• DESCRIBE THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES, MOUNTAIN RANGES AND

EARTHQUAKE EPICENTERS
• RELATE THE DISTRIBUTION OF ACTIVE VOLCANOES, MOUNTAIN RANGES AND
EARTHQUAKE EPICENTERS TO PLATE TECTONICS
• ENUMERATE WAYS TO ENSURE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS DURING EARTHQUAKES,
TSUNAMIS AND VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS AND
• SUGGEST WAYS BY WHICH ONE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO GOVERNMENT EFFORTS IN
REDUCING DAMAGE DUE TO EATHQUAKES, TSUNAMIS AND VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
OUTERMOST LAYER OF EARTH. THIS IS
WHERE WE LIVE.

MIDDLE LAYER OF EARTH. MADE OF

MOLTEN ROCKS.

INNERMOST LAYER OF EARTH.

LITHOSPHERE
- THE RIGID OUTER
PART OF THE EARTH,
CONSISTING OF THE
CRUST AND THE UPPER
MANTLE.
CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD
TECTONICS PLATE
 PLATE TECTONICS THEORY
THE EARTH’S CRUST IS BROKEN INTO SEGMENTS(PLATES)
THAT MOVE SLOWLY BUT CONSTANTLY ( TECTONICS).
 EFFECTS
•EARTHQUAKE
•VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
•TSUNAMIS
 EARTHQUAKE
• EARTHQUAKE IS THE SUDDEN SHAKING OF THE
EARTH CAUSED BY A RELEASE OF ENERGY
BENEATH THE EARTH’S SURFACE.
EARTHQUAKE DIAGRAM
DISTRIBUTION
OF
EARTHQUAKE
EPICENTERS
DISTRIBUTION
OF ACTIVE
VOLCANOES
 VOLCANO
• A volcano is an opening in the
earth's crust through which lava,
volcanic ash, and gases escape.
Volcanic eruptions are partly driven by
pressure from dissolved gas, much as
escaping gases force the cork out of a
bottle of champagne.
The greatest number of the
Earth's volcanoes occur on the ocean
floor.
 ACTIVE VOLCANOES IN
THE PHILIPPINES
According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and
Seismology (PHIVOLCS), at least twenty-four (24) of
these volcanoes are active or potentially active, while
the rest are dormant. Based on documented eruptions
over the years, the six most active volcanoes are:

Mayon – since 1616, Mayon has erupted 47 times

Taal – since the sixteenth century, Taal has erupted more than
30 times
Kanlaon – erupted 30 times since 1819
Bulusan – erupted 15 times since 1885
Hibok-Hibok – erupted five times in modern history
Pinatubo – erupted in 1991 after being dormant for 600 years.
From June 12 to June 16, 1991, the volcano erupted four times
• There are 452 volcanoes in the Ring of Fire including The
Andes in South America, Popocatepetl in the Trans-
Mexican Volcanic Belt, Mt. Saint Helens in the US Pacific
North West, Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, Mt. Fuji in
Japan, Krakatoa in the Indonesia Island Arc and Mt.
Ruapehu in New Zealand.
• Volcanic eruptions occur only in certain places and do not occur randomly. This
is because the Earth’s crust is broken into a series of slabs known as tectonic
plates. These plates are rigid, but they “float” on a hotter, softer layer in the
Earth's interior. As the plates move, they spread apart, collide, or slide past each
other.
• Sixty percent of all active volcanoes occur at the boundaries between tectonic
plates. Most volcanoes are found along a belt, called the “Ring of Fire” that
encircles the Pacific Ocean.
 PACIFIC RING OF FIRE

• All of the volcanoes in the Philippines are part of the Pacific

Ring of Fire, a major area in the Pacific Ocean where many of
the world’s earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occur. According
to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), about 90% of
the world’s earthquakes and all but three of the world’s 25 largest
volcanic eruptions occurred along the Ring of Fire.
 DISTRIBUTION
OF
MOUNTAIN RANGES
 MOUNTAIN RANGES
• A mountain range is a series or chain of mountains
that are close together.
• Mountains are huge rocky features of the earth's landscape. They
are formed by tectonic plates moving together and pushing up
until tall structures are formed. The world's mountain ranges are
created by the same forces that trigger earthquakes and volcanoes.
 EXAMPLES OF MOUNTAIN RANGES
SIERRA MADRE MOUNTAIN THE HIMALAYS MOUNTAIN THE ANDES
RANGE
RANGES
The world’s longest
The Himalayas, or Himalaya,
- The Sierra Madre is the longest mountain range situated in
are a mountain range in Asia,
mountain range in the Philippines.  separating the plains of the the south America
Indian subcontinent from the continent.
Tibetan Plateau.
Mountain ranges form when plates clash or when volcanic
fault lines run across them. The North and South American
continents are migrating westward, and when they collide
with the Pacific plate, they fold and collapse, forming
mountains along both continents' western reaches.
How would you describe
the relationship between
the locations of
earthquakes, mountain
ranges and volcanoes? 
The epicenters of volcanoes, mountain ranges, and
earthquakes are not spread randomly on the map. They are in
a region where the plate boundaries may be found.  
According to this data, all plate borders will cause
earthquakes, and certain plate boundaries will be capable of
forming mountain ranges and volcanoes.
The distribution of earthquake epicenters,
volcanoes, and mountain ranges serves as the
basis for the scientist in dividing the Earth's
lithosphere into several segments called plates.