he movement of the tectonic plates causing a shaking of the Earth’s surface, is an earthquake. Seismographs are instruments that can measure the size of an earthquake, from a tremor to a major event, as they are happening almost unceasingly. Some earthquakes can cause major events like broken dams, landslides, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and destruction of cities. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2015) The densest areas of the map – appendix 2 – is around Indonesia and New Zealand. This is because they are on plate boundaries, since the plates can cause earthquakes from the contact between them. The size of the earthquakes are also a lot more extreme around places that are right on the border of two or more tectonic plates. (Anon., 2015)
- Does Australia have volcanoes? How were they formed? Although many active volcanoes are common around the major boundaries of plate tectonics, they are quite rare in Australia. …show more content…
This is because Australia is right in the middle of a plate, and no plate boundaries intersect the continent. There are two active volcanoes on the Australian territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, located around 4000 kilometres south west of Perth. Regions in the Asia pacific like New Zealand, Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, all contain many active volcanoes, due to the rich magma around this area. Evidence of volcanoes can be found in many parts of Australia, especially extensive volcanism following the east coast, around 60 million years ago. This may have been caused by the flow of lava that is triggered by dykes and pipes that are spread over a large area. (Geoscience, n.d.) - Does Australia have hot spots? Some central volcanoes in Australia were created by the movement over a hot spot in the mantle. This melted the tectonic plate, in order for the volcano to form. As Australia moves further north, the hotspot has formed more volcanoes in more southern parts of Australia. The rocks in the centre of Australia become younger when moving further south. (Geoscience, n.d.) - What kind of mountain ranges does Australia have? The Glass House Mountains are located at the Sunshine Coast, and were named after Captain James Cook, 1770. In his journal he said “These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other, they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glasshouse for this reason I called them the Glass Houses …” The Glass House Mountains has a large range of terrain, including rocky peaks, steep slopes, coastal plains and gullies. They are fragments of past volcanic activity, occurring around 25 – 27 million years ago. Molten rock packed vents underneath the Earth’s surface, and hard rocks were formed when the molten solidified. The rocks trachyte and rhyolite were formed – trachyte is an extrusive, igneous, volcanic rock (Anon., 2015) and so is rhyolite (Auckland, 2005). Erosion from millions of years ago has removed the exterior of volcanic cones and sandstone rocks, which leaves the landscape making up the Glass House Mountains National Park today. (Tutt, 2015) - What are the effects of hotspots on the stability of Australia? Columns of hot magma bring material to the Earth’s surface, forming some of the continental crust (layer of rocks that form continents and
- Does Australia have volcanoes? How were they formed? Although many active volcanoes are common around the major boundaries of plate tectonics, they are quite rare in Australia. …show more content…
This is because Australia is right in the middle of a plate, and no plate boundaries intersect the continent. There are two active volcanoes on the Australian territories of Heard Island and McDonald Islands, located around 4000 kilometres south west of Perth. Regions in the Asia pacific like New Zealand, Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, all contain many active volcanoes, due to the rich magma around this area. Evidence of volcanoes can be found in many parts of Australia, especially extensive volcanism following the east coast, around 60 million years ago. This may have been caused by the flow of lava that is triggered by dykes and pipes that are spread over a large area. (Geoscience, n.d.) - Does Australia have hot spots? Some central volcanoes in Australia were created by the movement over a hot spot in the mantle. This melted the tectonic plate, in order for the volcano to form. As Australia moves further north, the hotspot has formed more volcanoes in more southern parts of Australia. The rocks in the centre of Australia become younger when moving further south. (Geoscience, n.d.) - What kind of mountain ranges does Australia have? The Glass House Mountains are located at the Sunshine Coast, and were named after Captain James Cook, 1770. In his journal he said “These hills lie but a little way inland, and not far from each other, they are remarkable for the singular form of their elevation, which very much resembles a glasshouse for this reason I called them the Glass Houses …” The Glass House Mountains has a large range of terrain, including rocky peaks, steep slopes, coastal plains and gullies. They are fragments of past volcanic activity, occurring around 25 – 27 million years ago. Molten rock packed vents underneath the Earth’s surface, and hard rocks were formed when the molten solidified. The rocks trachyte and rhyolite were formed – trachyte is an extrusive, igneous, volcanic rock (Anon., 2015) and so is rhyolite (Auckland, 2005). Erosion from millions of years ago has removed the exterior of volcanic cones and sandstone rocks, which leaves the landscape making up the Glass House Mountains National Park today. (Tutt, 2015) - What are the effects of hotspots on the stability of Australia? Columns of hot magma bring material to the Earth’s surface, forming some of the continental crust (layer of rocks that form continents and