Islands of JAPAN By JACK Hisgrove

Geological cause Theory of continental drift The theory of continental drift is explained by scientists that 4 billion years ago the earth cooled and since then the surface of the earth has been constantly moving and continuously changing. Since the surface of the earth has been constantly moving, it has a massive impact on the environment. Natural disasters are always occurring especially in japan. Since japan is surrounded by 3 plates, it is no surprise that a disaster will occur.

4 key points of evidence In the 1900s, a German scientist named Alfred wegner was the first to present the continental drift. He first noticed that all the continents fitted like a puzzle. He derived this hypothesis from the observation that the continents in the southern hemisphere exhibit an identical pattern of rock and fossils known as the "Gondwana sequence".

I drew a model Japan is surrounded by 3 types of plates: Eurasiatique Plate, Pacific Plate and the Philippine Plate.

Questions to natural disaster Where and when did the natural disaster occur? Off the northeast coast of japan at 2:46pm on march 11 2011 What was the geological cause of the natural disaster? Explain with reference to tectonic plates and plate boundaries. As the energy from the quake rose, two waves were created. Wave heights of more than 20 feet (6 m) socked Japan's coast, where the death toll is expected to exceed 10,000, according to news reports.At the same time, a tsunami roared across the Pacific Ocean at the ground-speed of an airplane, said Ken Hudnut of the USGS. Damage was reported in Hawaii and near the California-Oregon border.

Describe the effect of the natural disaster on both the environment and the human population in that area. All peoples homes were spitted with the tsunami while people run in terrier to stay alive. The tsunami measured at 19 feet and killed 19,000 people. Include images and/or video footage that show the extent of the damage caused by the disaster. https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=rzqMljEPdd8

Japan in 1 million years There is a lot of seismic activity going on in Japan. It’s the most seismically active country in the world, but that should come as no surprise to anyone given the terrible earthquake tragedies that have happened in Japan over the years. Japan sits atop an intersection of several tectonic plates and the shape of the country has been gradually transformed by these plate movements. But while Japan’s shape is changing, it is, on the whole, not sinking. Some parts of Japan (the mountains mostly) are actually getting higher as the plates collide. However, earthquakes such as The tohoku one in 2011 do cause some parts of Japan to sink. A 250 mile stretch of land along the Tohoku coastline dropped by about 2 feet as a result of the quake. On the other hand, other parts of Japan got wider and the seabed off the coast of Tohoku raised by about 10 feet.

A natural disaster On March 11, 2011, at 2:46 p.m. local time, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake ruptured a 500- kilometer-long fault zone off the northeast coast of Japan. Its epicenter was 130 kilometers off Sendai, Honshu; it occurred at a relatively shallow depth of 32 kilometers. The temblor violently shook northeast Honshu for six minutes, and collapsed its coastline by one meter. The thrusting moved Honshu about 2.4 meters eastward, and the seismic waves on the Pacific Ocean floor set off tsunami waves traveling at the speed of a jet plane (about 700 kilometers per hour). Waves 3 to 38 meters tall pounded Honshu’s coastline, destroying towns and villages and flooding areas up to 10 kilometers inland. Tsunami waves also swept across the Pacific, causing damage or disruptions in Hawaii, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia.

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Bibliography http://loki.stockton.edu/~hozikm/geol/Courses/The%20Earth/Content%20Web %20Pages/Bugielski/webpage.htm Google images http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/japans-megaquake-and-killer-tsunami- how-did-happen http://www.tofugu.com/2013/03/01/japan-is-sinking-or-is-it/ http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/asia- pacific/japan/111229/worst-natural-disasters-2011