A Wave of Destruction
The Ring of Fire
2011 Tsunami in Japan
The Ring of Fire is a 25,000 mile chain of volcanoes that outline the Pacific Ocean. Japan is on the western edge of the ring. In 2011, a 9 scale earthquake, a violent shaking of the Earth, hit Japan and a tsunami followed shortly after. A tsunami is a powerful ocean wave that causes a lot of damage to the city. The cause of the tsunami is due to tectonic plate shifts beneath the ocean surface. A tectonic plate is movement where the ocean slides against, under or above each other and collide together. The tsunami in Japan was a result of the tectonic plates in the subduction zone where the plates slide beneath another in the mantle, which is the hotter layer beneath the Earth's crust.
Japan depends on nuclear power, but it is killing fish.
Earthquakes occur along faults which are cracks in the Earth's surface.
Question #1
Will new technology help Japan better predict how destructive a tsunami might be in the future?
Question #2
Is there a way to stop the tectonic plates from moving so much to avoid future tsumanis?
The Big Wave
This image shows the height of a tsunami wave about to hit land.
As the Water Covers the Land
In this image, the water has hit land and is moving quickly through.
The Aftermath
This image shows the destruction of a tsunami.