Why are mountains, earthquakes, and volcanoes grouped together in certain areas of the world?

Question

im interested....so gimme som reasons =P

Answer 1

The planet is actually made up of a series of geographic plates. Because these plates are constantly moving, they cause all sorts of things to happen to the earths surface. The space between the plates are called fault lines, and these places are full of geologic activity. When plates crash together, they force the land upwards, forming mountains. The movement of the earth's plates causes earthquakes. And volcanoes are usually found along fault lines because the fault lines offer thin spaces in the earth's crust for lava to escape. Earthquakes, Mountainranges and Volcanoes are usually all grouped together along fault lines, because that is where most geologic activity occurs. (For example: The Ring of Fire in the Pacific Ocean).

Answer 2

Because they are generally the result of the same tectonic forces. For example, subduction zones (where one tectonic plate is diving beneath another which is riding over it) are the focus of deep-seated earthquakes as the plates slide over each other, they are the site of volcanoes as the subducted material is brought back to the surface.

where the plates are not subducting, the may just bunch together and create a folded, faulted mountain chain such as the Himalayan Mountains where the Indian subcontinent is being smashed into the Asian plates.

Earthquakes often precede volcanoes and mountain building.

Answer 3

Because all three of these features are associated with the boundaries of the Earth's tectonic plates (so-called "plate margins"). There are about 20 or so tectonic plates of various sizes. The study of the motions of these plates, and the reasons why they move, is called plate-tectonics. Another group of phenomena that plate tectonicists study are the results of plate interactions, such as mountain building (called "orogenesis"), earthquakes, and earthquakes. Simply put, at a plate margin, you have two massive slabs of rock moving relative to each other. If they slide horizontally past each other, you have a "strike-slip plate margin", like the San Andreas Fault. If one plate slides under the other, you have a "subduction zone" with an associated ocean trench, like the one along the US Pacific NW. And if the plates move apart, you have a "mid-ocean spreading ridge" like the mid-atlantic ridge. All three types of boundaries create earthquakes, the second two produce volcanoes, and all three can create mountains. So, the places in the world that have these things, have them because either: a) they are currently close to or on a plate margin, or b) they were close to or on a plate margin at some time in the past (plate margins, like faults, can become inactive). In addition, you can get volcanoes and relatively small earthquakes over "hot-spots", places where tectonic plates are moving over anomalously hot areas in the earth's mantle (the layer under the crust). Here, molten rock from the mantle rises to the surface making HUGE volcanoes, like those in Hawai'i.

Answer 4

There are two main schools of though on this phenomenon.

[school of thought A]:
There are giant hamsters underneath the Earth's crust who like to snuggle in groups. Their collective snoring is so loud that it causes the ground to shake.

[B]:
The tectonic plates move very slowly over hotspots (upward welling pressure points in the mantle). Eruptions break through from time to time, causing volcanoes. This is how we got our 50th state. Actually look at the Aleutian islands (Alaska), they might be... wait... naw prolly just plate collisions...

...which is how mountain ranges are formed. The Atlantic midocean ridge is pushing the Atlantic plates into the east coast of the States. This is why it's such a b!@#h to drive 55,000 of steel west from the east coast.

Answer 5

All continents rest on giant plates of rock called tectonic plates. When these plates meet they either push down into the earth or up into the air. If they go up, mountains, if they go down, just a load of shaking and cracks. Either way you get earthquakes and lava coming close to the surface.

Answer 6

it's where the tectonic plates collide. plates pushing together causes mountains to sprout. the friction of the plates running against each other causes earthquakes, and volcanoes i believe is from the heat caused by the pressure of the plates being forced together.

Answer 7

all of those occur near the plate boundaries because when when one plate "dives" underneath another it creates a volcano earthquake etc

Answer 8

because they form on plate bounderies, montains form when plates come together, volcanoes do too, earthquakes happen when the plates separte.

Answer 9

They rest on places where the earth's plates meet

Answer 10

Plate techtonics.