seismic belt of the Earth - is the area where contact between a lithosphere plates that make up our planet.The main characteristic of such areas is the increased mobility, which can be expressed in the frequent earthquakes, as well as the presence of active volcanoes, which occasionally have a tendency to erupt.Typically, these areas of the Earth stretching for thousands of miles in length.Throughout this distance it can be traced a great break crust.If such a ridge is on the bottom of the ocean, it looks like sredneokeanichesky chute.
Modern titles seismic belts of the Earth
According to conventional theory, geographic, now in the world there are two major seismic zone.These include a latitude that is located along the equator, and the second - the meridians, respectively, perpendicular to the previous one.The first is called Trans-Mediterranean and it takes its origin about the Gulf, and the extreme point of the middle reaches of the Atlantic Ocean.The second is called the meridional Pacific, and held it in full compliance with their name.It is in these areas has the highest seismic activity.There have their place rock formations, as well as the constantly active volcanoes.If these seismic belt of the Earth view on the world map, it becomes clear that most eruptions falls on the underwater part of the planet.
the largest range in the world
important to know that 80 percent of all earthquakes and volcanic eruptions falls on Pacific ridge.Most of it is located under the salt water, but it also affects some of the land.For example, in Hawaii, because of the split in the earth's rocks, constantly earthquakes, which often lead to a large number of casualties.Then this giant mountain range includes smaller seismic belt of the Earth.So, it is treated Kamchatka, the Aleutian Islands.It affects the entire west coast of the American continent and ends right on the South Loop Antilles.That is why all the residential areas, which are located along the line, constantly experiencing more or less strong earth tremors.Among the most popular mega-cities, which is in this volatile region - Los Angeles.
Seismic Belt land.The names of the less common ones
Now consider the area of so-called secondary earthquakes or minor seismicity.All are sufficiently tightly arranged within our planet, but in some locations does not hear echoes, while in other regions shocks reach almost the maximum.But it is worth noting that this situation is characteristic only of the lands, which are under the waters of the oceans.Secondary seismic belt of the Earth are concentrated in the waters of the Atlantic, the Pacific and in the Arctic and parts of the Indian Ocean.Interestingly, the strong tremors, usually falls on the eastern part of groundwater, that is "Earth breathes" in the region of the Philippines, gradually descending lower to Antarctica.To some extent, the centers of these impacts extend to the waters of the Pacific Ocean, but in the Atlantic almost always calm.
more detailed discussion of this issue
As mentioned above, the seismic belt of the Earth was formed at the junction of the largest lithospheric plates.The biggest among those is the meridian Pacific ridge along the entire length of which there are a huge number of mountain elevations.As a rule, focus attacks, which causes tremors in the natural area - subcrustal, so they are distributed over very long distances.The most seismically active branch of the meridian of the ridge is its northern part.Then there are the extremely high kicks that often reach the California coast.For this reason, the number of skyscrapers being built in this area, always comes down to a minimum.Pay attention to the fact that cities such as San Francisco, Los Angeles, in general, one-story.High-rise buildings erected only in the city center.Heading below to the south, the seismicity of this branch is reduced.On the west coast of South America tremors are not as strong as in the North, but there is still marked subcortical foci.
Many branches of one big ridge
Names seismic belts of the Earth, which are offshoots from the main meridian of the Pacific range, directly related to their geographic location.One of the branches - East.It originated off the coast of Kamchatka, runs along the Aleutian Islands, and then goes around the entire American continent and ends in the Falkland Islands.This area is sorely-seismic, and bumps that are formed within it are slim.One has only to note that in the region of the equator of it goes to the East branch.The Caribbean island countries and all of which are located here, are already in the zone of seismic Antilles loop.In this region, previously there were many earthquakes, which brought a lot of disasters, but these days the Earth "calmed down", and tremors, which can be heard and felt in all the resorts of the Caribbean, did not pose any danger to life.
small geographic paradox
Considering the seismic zone map of the Earth, it turns out that the eastern branch of the Pacific ridge runs along the west coast of the planet's land, that is, along the Americas.The western branch of the same seismic belt begins near the Kuril Islands, Japan passes through, and after further divided into two others.It is strange that the name of this seismic zones were picked with precision but on the contrary.By the way, those two branches, which divided this band also has the name "West" and the East ", but this time their geographical origin coincides with the generally accepted rules.East goes through New Guinea to New Zealand.This area can be traced fairly strong aftershocks, often wearing destructive.East branch covers the coast of the Philippine Islands, the southern islands of Thailand and Burma, and finally connects to the Trans-Mediterranean zone.
Overview "parallel" seismic Ridge
Now consider the lithospheric area that is closer to our region.As you know, the name of the seismic zones of the planet depends on their location, and in this case Mediterranean-Range Trans-Asian proof.Within its slowness are the Alps, the Carpathians, the Apennines and the islands located in the Mediterranean Sea.Most seismic activity falls on the Romanian unit, where often there are strong aftershocks.Moving to the East, the land grabs belt of Baluchistan, Iran, and ends in Burma.However, the overall percentage of seismic activity, which falls on the area, is only 15. Therefore, this region is a very safe and calm.
