The Japan Trench

Hello again! I have just finished my adventures in America, and have landed in the Tokyo airport. What a bustling city! I have begun talking with my taxi driver on what to see while in the city, and right off the bat he reccomended the Imperial Palace. With such a mysterious quality in its name I couldn't resist a visit. After checking into my hotel and dropping off my bags, I headed straight to the palace.

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The Imperial Palace

Much to my disappointment, the actual building was off limits to the public. I was able to get a tour of the grounds though, which was quite enjoyable. By the time my tour had ended, I was incredibly hungry, and zipped downtown to get some good sushi. With a belly full of nigiri, I hailed another cab and arrived back at my hotel, it was time to learn about the Japan Trench. The Japan trench was created when the Pacific Plate colided with the Okhotsk plate, crumpling the Okhotsk's edge, sliding underneath, subtracting surface area and creating a trench. As the plate slides farther and farther down, the rock begins to melt from extreme heat. Since the molten rock is less dense than the surrounding rock, it begins to rise to the surface, creating magma pools and eventually erupting. This process is known as convergent subduction.

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Convergent Subduction

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Convergent Subduction

Subducion zones are famous for having many volcanoes and many eruptions. In fact, the Japan Trench is located on the infamous ring of fire. As you may alreay know, the earthquake on march 11, 2011 occured along the Japan Trench. The Japan trench is suprisingly not known for erruptions. The rest of Japan however, has many active volacnoes that erupt quite frequently. Well, It's a quarter after midnight now, and I have a big day ahead. I guess I better get some rest. See you later!

http://www.amnh.org/education/resources/rfl/web/dsv/images/plate_spreading.jpg

The underwater Juan de Fuca fault

Hello again! I have finally finished my travels in New Zealand, and have arrived in Washington state to see the Juan de Fuca fault. I am staying in the emerald city, a town I have already come to adore. After lodging with a friend in new Zealand I am happy to be able to claim a full hotel room to myself. It hasn't taken long for me to meet some of the locals, and they all seem very friendly. They weren't at all shy in telling me of all the places that I needed to visit. Time after time I was told that Pike Place Market, the EMP, and the Space Needle were the destinations that could not be missed. So, without further ado, I hailed a cab and set off.

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The EMP and Space Needle

First I stopped at the EMP, catching my first glimple of the Space Needle as I neared the entrance. The museum turned out to be absoloutely incredible, and I believe that everyone would be amused by the exhibits. After a full four hours in the EMP I headed up the space needle and surveyed the surrounding city. The Space Needle is truly a piece of amazing architecture.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/64/Pike_Place_Market_Entrance.JPG

Pike Place Market

After the long hours at the EMP I was ready to walk around for a bit, and so I headed down to Pike Place. What a scene! This bustling marketplace is a defining piece of Seattle culture, and a place that simply cannot be missed. I spent over three hours wandering between the shops and admiring the items for sale. But once I looked down at my watch, I knew that I better head back to the hotel and study up on the Juan de Fuca fault.As it turns out, this fault is divergent, which means that it is casued by plates that pull in opposite directions, creating large crevices in the earth.

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Divergent boundary

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Divergent Boundary

When these plates pull apart, it causes lava to come up from deep in the earth, eventually cooling and settling on the crevice's ridges, creating ranges of volcanoes. Also, as they slowly move away from eachother, the plates create a wider gap between the continents. Among other things, divergent boundaries are known to cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. The last time new magma began to flow from the Jaun de Fuca ridge, was in July of 2011. Also, tiny earthquakes occur very commmonly along Juan de Fuca's divergent ridge Anyway, I better get some rest, i'll see you soon!

http://images.travelpod.com/tw_slides/ta01/59e/620/the-alpine-fault-line-runs-under-fj-glacier--fox-glacier.jpg

The Alpine Fault

Hello again! I have finished my hike up Mount Everest, and have now moved on to the pristine landscape of New Zealand, and the Alpine Fault. I have settled down in the beautiful city of Dunedin, in New Zealand. Enjoying the leisures of life, as I relax in the home of my old friend Jesse J. Jamieson.

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Jesse's house is the second one to the left

After having my fare share of luxury (and kiwis) it's time to learn about the the reason for my arrival; the Alpine Fault. This fault is in the transform category, which is where two plates consistantly slide past eachother, eventually snagging, and then evening out with incredible force. This causes frequent powerful surface earthquakes, and small, non volcanic uplift mountains, accompanied by a valley between the mini ranges.

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Transform Fault

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Transform Fault

The last time that this fault has ruptured, was the year 1717. The Alpine Fault is where the Indo-australian tectonic plate and the Pacific plate come together,  Anyway, I better get packed up, I'm heading down to the fault in a few hours, and I better be prepared. See you soon!

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Everest_North_Face_toward_Base_Camp_Tibet_Luca_Galuzzi_2006.jpg

Everest

Today is my first day in Nepal and things are going splendidly. The weather is brisk and cold, but the sky is clearer than crystal, perfect for photography. I have nestled down into the home of Abhimand, a highly respected village leader living near the everest base camp. I have already learned many of the cultures and ceremonies of these people, and have started to teach some of the children about the wonders of journalism. I have made an especially good bond with the daughter of my host, Ratna.

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Ratna

Tomorrow I will begin scalling the mountain range, and today I am learning about it's formation. As it turns out, Mount Everest and the Himalayas, along with many other major mountain ranges are formed by convergent collision. Convergent collision is when continental tectonic plates collide head-on, using the oppositional force to drive one of them upward, creating tall, non volcanic  mountains.

http://www.passmyexams.co.uk/GCSE/physics/images/continental_continental.gif

Convergent Collision

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Convegent Collision

This is very interesting to me, as it seems like the plates were almost battling for superiority. This war of plates has had its its latest show of force with a strong earthquake on September 22, 2011. Strong surface earthquakes happen frequently, as the plates are still pushing against eachother, one driving deeper, and the other driving upward. Anyway, it is very late now and I should probably get some sleep before my trek at sunrise. See you next time!

DISCLAIMER: This blog was created by a budding science student in an attempt to learn and teach the topic of tectonics. The student has not necesarilly travelled to these particular destinations, but has created ficticious stories about them anyways.