Table of Contents
Where are the Juan de Fuca and North American Plates converge?
The Cascadia Subduction Zone is the Region where the Juan De Fuca and North American Plates Converge. The Coast Ranges, including the Olympic Mountains, are made of oceanic sediments and hard rocks that were caught in the vise between the converging plates, uplifted, and added to the edge of the continent.
Where are the subduction zones of the Cascadia plate?
Cascadia Subduction Zone 1 Mount Rainier National Park, Washington. Mount Rainier is a 14,000 foot (4,300 meter) volcano in the Cascade Range developed above the place where the subducting Juan de Fuca Plate reaches 2 Yosemite National Park, California. 3 Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska.
How are the subduction zones related to plate boundaries?
Subduction zones form where a plate with thinner (less-buoyant) oceanic crust descends beneath a plate with thicker (more-buoyant) continental crust.
How is the forearc basin formed in the subduction zone?
A forearc basin develops in the low area between the two mountain ranges. Farther inland, the subducting plate reaches depths where it “sweats” hot water. The rising water melts rock in its path, forming a volcanic arc on the overrriding plate.
How does the tearing of the oceanic plate cause volcanism?
“The tearing not only causes volcanism on North America but also causes deformation of the not‐yet‐subducted sections of the oceanic plate offshore,” write the researchers in their newly published paper. “This tearing may eventually cause the plate to fragment, and what is left of the small pieces of the plate will attach to other plates nearby.”
What happens when tectonic plates converge in a subduction zone?
Where tectonic plates converge, the one with dense, thin oceanic crust subducts beneath the one with thick, more buoyant continental crust. An accretionary wedge forms between the converging plates as material is scraped off the subducting plate.
Which is the last remnant of the Farallon Plate?
The Juan de Fuca plate is the last remnant of the much bigger Farallon plate, which has been disappearing under North America for tens of millions of years. It’s the perfect opportunity to study how plates eventually get swallowed up, and how that might cause seismic and volcanic activity on the surface.