Indonesia and Earthquake Activity

Indonesia has a very high seismic activity because of the way that it's tectonic plates are situated, four plates constantly going through friction with each other.  The tectonic region of Java is the most unstable. The island is adjacent to a deep sea trench, and is located where tectonic plates meet. Indonesia's most recent earthquake was a 5.3 magnitude just this Wednesday morning. When looking at the map of Indonesia, you can see that where the subduction zone is, that is where there is high seismic activity and volcanoes.
http://www.shipdetective.com/advice/safety/eq_indonesia.htm

Indonesia is also at high risk for Tsunamis, because earthquakes happen along the seafloor, causing the ocean water to rise up and generate devastating power onto the land.

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How Indonesia is Prepared for Disaster

 

You cannot predict when a tsunami, or major earthquake hits, but when one does there is always disaster relief. The American Red Cross plays a major role in aiding people after these catastrophes. They provide food, shelter, and vital medical care to Indonesia's citizens. The Asia Disaster Preparedness Center also helps with Indonesia's recovery. 

 

       The Indonesian Islands lie where the Pacific Plate, Austrailian plate, Eurasian and the Phillipine plate meet. This is a very unique spot because when different tectonic plates are sliding past each other and causing friction, it causes volcanoes and seismically large earthquakes. This means that the Indonesian islands are hitting 4 plate boundaries, which causes great motion and change to the geologic landscape of the seafloor. The plates would be called convergent plate boundaries with subduction. The Indian Oceanic plate is being subducted under the Eurasian plate because the continental crust is less dense than oceanic crust. It is also interesting that a geologic fault line runs the length of Sumatra, The earthquakes here are mostly caused by the converging Australian plate.

How do subducting plates cause volcanoes? As the plate is being subducted, magma from beneath the surface of the earth is being melted from the friction of the tectonic plates. It  reaches the surface, forming a margin within the oceanic crust, forming a volcano.

Source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Talang#mediaviewer/File:Mount_Talang.JPG

Mount Talang is an active stratovolcano in Sumatra. It's most recent eruption occurred in 2004.

Sources:
http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/eoc/teachers/t_tectonics/p_map_plate_layers_bath.html

http://www.livescience.com/43220-subduction-zone-definition.html

Mined Minerals in Indonesia

Indonesia's most mined resources are gold, tin, nickel, copper, and bauxite.
Source: U.S. Library of Congress

Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes.

     A hazard, (in geologic terms) are conditions that are dangerous for humans, animals, and wildlife. Hazards may be occur suddenly, like a volcanic explosion for example. Or, they can be slow forming hazards, such as land erosion near property.


A disaster is the outcome of geologic events which cause loss of life, property damage, cause of fire.. etc. Examples of natural disasters include tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and cyclones.

A catastrophe is a violent event that affects immense amounts of people, and it also effects the geological landscape. A catastrophe takes years and mass amounts of years to make a full recovery.

A Little bit about Indonesia...

   Indonesia is located in the "Ring of Fire" which is a geographical feature of the ocean floor which creates explosive volcanism. This makes the land of Indonesia highly unstable and there is always the possibility of a volcanic eruption. These volcanoes form because of the contact between the Indo Australian Plate and the Pacific Plate become subducted under the Eurasian Plate, causing the underlying magma to be pushed out and volcanoes to form.