Question

How will you relate the distribution of mountain ranges with the distribution of earthquake epicenters and volcanoes

Answer 1

The relationship between the distribution of mountain ranges and earthquake epicentres and volcanoes.

Explanation:

• The majority of mountain ranges are formed around plate borders when plates collide. This tectonic plate collision can cause crumbling of the crust (as seen in the Himalayas) or buckling of the crust above a subduction zone (subduction being where one tectonic plate is pushed over another).

• When tectonic plates collide without one being subducted under the other, like in the Himalayas, the result is a (geologically) violent crumpling of the Earth, which, as we all know, is where the world's highest mountains are found. Anyone who hasn't been living under a rock since the recent Nepal earthquakes should be aware that this collision could result in very large earthquakes. In this case, earthquakes are highly connected with mountain ranges, but not with the growth of an individual peak. Volcanoes aren't something you'd expect to see in a continental collision.

• As you can see from the picture attached, earthquakes are closely linked to the area's mountain-building zone, but they are even more strongly linked to the region as a whole. They are not mountain-specific, and they have less to do with the volcanic zone than with the actual collision zone.
• On a wider scale, the distribution of volcanoes in respect to an area like this is generally predictable.