You have now learned about the three main types of tectonic plate boundaries: convergent, divergent, and transform. You have also learned about earthquakes and volcanoes at each type.
Now that you are a plate tectonic expert, imagine you have been hired as a scientific consultant to a movie production company. The movie company is getting ready to film several big movies and some of them will include scenes of earthquakes and volcanoes. They need to find places on Earth to film their movies that will be authentic-that is, they need locations where large earthquakes and volcanoes really do take place.
Specifically, they want to find two separate locations: one where shallow, large magnitude earthquakes are frequently found and one where large steep volcanoes that have explosive eruptions are found. Your job is to identify locations on Earth that will meet these two needs. You will find one place for the earthquakes and one place for the volcanoes.
1. Access a plate tectonics map that shows the types of boundaries throughout the world.
2. Using what you have learned about plate tectonics, seismicity, and volcanism, identify two sites that you think will work. You may want to compare the plate tectonics map to a regular world map so you can name the countries you choose. Remember that you need one site that has large magnitude, shallow-focus earthquakes and one site that has steep volcanoes with explosive eruptions.
3. After you have made your selection, compose a message to your boss (in the form of a report) on your findings. There are several "right" answers, so be sure to explain why you chose each site.
4. Explain the tectonic setting of each one and how the tectonic setting will make the site suitable. Your job is to convince your boss that the sites you chose will be perfect for making the movie authentic.