Download Japan * Tectonic Case Study

By Harshil and Austin
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Pacific Plate (oceanic)
Philippines Sea Plate (oceanic)
North American Plate (continental)
Eurasian Plate (continental)
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The destructive plate margin occurs as the
oceanic pacific plate is subducted underneath
the continental North American plate at the
Kuril trench and the Japan Trench.
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The destructive plate
margin also occurs
when the Philippines
sea plate and the
Pacific plate are
subducted by the
Eurasian plate at the
Suruga and Nankai
Troughs and the
Ryukyu Trench.
Subduction of
the oceanic plate
boundary (which
is less dense)
causes the plate
to melt creating
fresh magma
which is hot and
therefore rises
through the
cracks which
causes a volcanic
eruption.
• Earthquakes are triggered as the plates move
against each other creating shock waves which
are felt on the surface.
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On Friday March 11th 2011, an 8.9 magnitude earthquake
hit the NE coast of Japan, near Sendai, approximately 250
miles from Tokyo at a depth of 20 miles.
The epicentre of the earthquake was caused by the
destructive plate margin where the Pacific plate was
subducted by the Okhotsk Plate (part of the eastern edge
of the Eurasian plate)
The epicentre was offshore and created a Tsunami which
reached heights of 40m which caused great destruction to
coastal areas.
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This earthquake/tsunami in 2011 had over
15000 casualties.
Being a developed region, the costs of damage
was the highest recorded in history at
US$235billion.
 This wasn’t the worst tectonic
hazard in the region. Japans
worst previous earthquake was
of 8.3 magnitude and killed
143000 people in Kanto in
1923. Another earthquake of
7.2 magnitude in Kobe in 1995
killed 6400 people.