The Pacific Coasts of South America, North America, and Asia are on the infamous Ring of Fire of volcanoes. The Ring of Fire is also associated with large earthquakes, which like the volcanoes, result from the interactions between tectonic plates. On April 16, 2016, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake rocked the tiny country of Ecuador, causing destruction in many cities and towns and over 650 deaths nationwide. Earthquakes like this one occur when a dense, heavy oceanic plate (the Nazca Plate) “subducts” or slips below a less dense continental plate (the South American Plate). Subduction zones are one of the three main types of plate boundaries and are hosts to the largest earthquakes.
Issue 30 – Magnitude 7.8 Earthquake in Ecuador
Please review this lesson using this quick 5 minute, 10 question survey.
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- This IRIS Education video illustrates (1) how stress builds up at subduction zones along plate boundary faults and (2) how subduction zone earthquakes may trigger tsunamis.
- NBC News article about earthquake in Ecuador and the devastation the country has suffered from the event.
SciNews Lesson Materials
- Faults Slideshow (.pptx): Present your students with the 3 main type of faults. If this material is not a review, then strongly consider using (3) for a 3D visual aid.
- Youtube videos of the Ecuadorean earthquake
- Shaking recorded in a couple’s apartment (30 seconds)
- ABC News coverage of the earthquake (3 minutes)
- Drone video of damage in the city of Manta (1.5 minutes)
- Optional – Fold-up 3D cutouts (.pdf): This document by Indiana University provides information about faulting as well as to fold-up cutouts to help teachers present faults in 3D.
- Compare and contrast the recent Japanese earthquakes with the Ecuadorean earthquake that occurred the next day. The New York Times has a well-explained article on the differences and some educational activities based on the event.
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