Tectonic Plates and Egypt
Egypt is located in the northeastern corner of the African Plate, alongside the southeastern edge of the Eastern Mediterranean region. It is interacting with the Arabian and Eurasian Plates through divergent and convergent plate boundaries, respectively. It is noticeable that Egypt is surrounded by three active tectonic plate boundaries: the African-Eurasian plate boundary, the Gulf of Suez-Red Sea plate boundary, and of course the Gulf of Aqaba-Dead Sea Transform fault (As you can see in the Figure below). The seismic activity of Egypt is due to the interaction and the relative motion between the plates of Eurasia, Africa and Arabia. It is important to note that within the last decades, some areas in Egypt have been struck by significant earthquakes causing considerable damage. These types of events were interpreted as the result of this interaction.
As a conclusion Egypt has two types of boundaries, Divergent and Convergent:
- The Divergent Boundary is where two plates move away from each other and the space that this creates is filled with new crustal material sourced from molten magma that forms below.
Note that divergent Boundary can cause Earthquakes and Volcanic Eruptions.
- The Convergent Boundary is also known as the destructive boundary, and it is where two or more lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, creating a process called subduction.
Note that Convergent Boundary can cause Explosive Volcanos, Earthquakes, Flooding and Landslides.
Note that Convergent Boundary can cause Explosive Volcanos, Earthquakes, Flooding and Landslides.
Resources:
Garcia, A. G. (2021, August 21). Geol9 tectonics. YouTube. Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QE75ZU7H1E
An updated seismic source model for Egypt. IntechOpen. (n.d.). Retrieved August 28, 2022, from https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/47538
Really cool tectonic setting! It'll be interesting to see what you find out in the next w weeks about earthquakes and volcanic activity in the area!
ReplyDeleteI think it's really interesting how you did your tectonic setting and how you explained where the plates are in relation to Egypt. I agree with the professor and think it will be incredibly interesting to learn about the earthquake and volcanic activity in that area! Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou did a really complete job of the tectonic plates around Egypt. The maps really helped me understand and visualize what you were speaking about. From other maps that I have looked it, the earthquake activity is due to the interaction between the Eurasian and African plates as you pointed out. I'm interested to learn more about Egypt!
ReplyDelete