Why are earthquakes frequent in Afghanistan?
- October 20, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Why are earthquakes frequent in Afghanistan?
Subject: Geography
Section: Physical geography
Context:
- Multiple earthquakes hit Afghanistan recently with a magnitude of 6.3
Anatomy of an earthquake:
- The earth is made up of chunks of solid rocks called tectonic plates. Discontinuities in these rock masses, along which they have moved, are called fault lines. These fractures are a result of tectonic forces and stress that builds up in the earth’s lithosphere, causing the rocks to break and slip.
- An earthquake occurs when blocks of lithosphere suddenly slip past one another, releasing energy and sending seismic waves through the ground.
- The surface where the lithosphere chunks slip becomes a fault plane. The point within the earth where the fault rupture starts and produces an earthquake is called the focus or the hypocentre. The point on the surface of the earth directly above it is called the epicentre.
- Tectonic plates are slow moving but are always in motion, mostly due to the heat energy generated inside the earth. The edges of these plates are called plate boundaries and consist of faults— this is where most earthquakes occur.
Why do frequent earthquakes occur in Afghanistan?
- Afghanistan is located over multiple fault lines in the region where the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic plates meet. These plates collide often, leading to significant tectonic activity in the region.
- The Hindu Kush mountain range and the Pamir Knot are geologically complex regions where tectonic plates meet. The collision and convergence of the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate result in the folding and faulting of the Earth’s crust. This geological complexity contributes to the occurrence of earthquakes in the region.
- The ongoing northward movement of the Indian Plate towards the Eurasian Plate also results in compression, leading to the uplift of the Himalayas and the transmission of tectonic stress across the entire region.
- Afghanistan is also crisscrossed by various active fault systems like the Chaman Fault and the Main Pamir Thrust.
Source: TH