Week 2: Plate Tectonics

Thailand is located on the Eurasian plate boundary. The plates coming together around Thailand have many different boundary types. If only it were so simple! It looks like the mass of Thailand is on two different blocks which are attached to the Eurasian plate which Asia sits on. To the southwest of Thailand, the plate is subducting ocean floor (line with little triangles). Those other lines on the map mostly look like transform faults (Plates and faults are often confused. Faults are mini versions of plate boundaries; much shallower). Divergent boundaries really only occur on the deep seafloor as it spreads apart and spits out basalt.

Thailand is on the Eurasian plate but it also is in the region of the Sunda Plate. "The Sunda Plate was formerly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate, but GPS measurements have confirmed its independent movement at 10 mm/yr eastward relative to Eurasia"(Wiki). Thailand is not located on a fault line so it rarely experiences earthquakes. The eastern region is completely in green meaning that it is completely safe. "Thailand has a number of active faults with the potential to trigger tremors, many of which are concentrated in the northern and western regions. However, these faults do not have the capability to cause strong quakes like those in the Ring of Fire or in areas directly on top of tectonic plate boundaries"(Chula).

Sources:
http://www.cicc.chula.ac.th/en/2012-04-26-04-31-26/203-likelihood-of-earthquakes-in-thailand.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunda_Plate

Picture Source:
http://mpconline.mpc.edu/pluginfile.php/429774/mod_resource/content/1/Summary%20PlatesBoundaries.pdf
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunda_Plate
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/earth520/content/l2_p14.html