Where is the Kermadec Islands?
26-08-2023
10:26 AM
1 min read
Overview:
An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck the Kermadec Islands region in New Zealand recently.
About Kermadec Islands:
- They are volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.
- They are a dependency of New Zealand.
- The islands are a volcanic island arc, formed at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate.
- They are the tiny emergent part of a chain of submarine volcanoes that define the Kermadec ridge.
- They are uninhabited, except for Raoul Island where a team of Department of Conservation staff carry out weed control work and make meteorological observations.
- The climate of the islands is subtropical.
- The islands are seismically active.
Q1) What is a tectonic plate?
A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.
Source: 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Kermadec Islands in New Zealand