Bandar Lampung, Indonesia

April 23, 2011

            It’s so much easier to breathe at a lower elevation level. After my 4 days in the Himalayas, I am now back at sea-level on an island in Indonesia. It is called Lampung. I am in the capital city; Bandar Lampung. The exact location is at 5° 27’ 0” S and 105° 16’ 0” E.

            Yesterday, I went to visit a small island in the Krakatoa island formation in the Sunda strait, which isn’t very far from where I am now. I went to visit the very famous volcanic island that exploded in 1883. Its location is 6° 6’ 7” S and 105° 25’ 23” E. This island, and many of the ones around it, was formed because of the convergent subduction boundary between the Eurasian plate and the Australian plate. The heavier oceanic Australian plate collided with the Eurasian plate and got forced underneath it. Then, as the Austalian plate got closer and closer to the earth’s core, it started to melt and the liquid rock bubbled up and formed the volcano on the surface of the earth.

            Throughout history, there have been quite a few explosions on this island. Prior to the 1883 eruption, there was one in 1680 and multiple earlier than 100 BCE. The biggest explosions were on August 27th, 1883 when multiple large explosions almost destroyed the island. The main explosion has been said to be the loudest sound ever heard on earth. This explosion was also so big that it affected weather patterns and temperatures for multiple years afterwards.

A drawing of Krakatoa's 1883 explosion:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Krakatoa_eruption_lithograph.jpg

            There have also been many earthquakes in Indonesia. Since 1915, there have been more than 50 earthquakes that were over a 6.0 on the Richter scale. The largest was a 9.1 earthquake in 2004. There were 227, 898 fatalities and a lot of damage was done. The most recent earthquake was in 2010. It was a 7.2 earthquake with no fatalities.

2004 earthquake damage:

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/earthquakes7-4x3.jpg

After a very information packed day yesterday, I came back to town at around midnight and was disappointed to find that the restaurants were all closed, so I went back to my hotel and had dinner there. The food wasn’t amazing, but it was good enough. Tomorrow, I will explore the city a bit more and then the day after that I will be flying back home. This was an amazing trip. I’m sad that it’s almost over, but hopefully I can go on another trip next summer.

J

Rumjatar, Nepal

April 18, 2011

Now I’m in a 5^th continent, Asia. I am in Rumjatar, Nepal. Its coordinates are 27° 18’ 0” N and 86° 33’ 0” E. I am here because Rumjatar is very close to Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. I am going to go visit Mount Everest tomorrow. I’m not planning to hike very far, but hopefully I can get a wonderful view of the surrounding area.





Mount Everest: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Himalayas





Mount Everest is part of the Himalaya mountain range that crosses through Nepal, India, Bhutan and a few other countries. The Himalayas were formed by a convergent collision boundary between the Indo-Australian and the Eurasian plates. The Indo-Australian plate used to be on the coast of Africa. It then began to move at about 15 cm per year until it crashed into the Eurasian plate. The collision made the plates buckle and go upwards, forming mountains.

India's Movement:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/Himalaya-formation.gif

 

There are no volcanoes here, because the lava from the earth’s core is not bubbling upwards like in a subduction boundary or a divergent boundary.

However, there have been a number of earthquakes in Nepal. The most recent large-ish quake was on December 8, 2008. It was a 6.0 earthquake. The most recent earthquake was a 4.2 on February 22, 2011. A larger earthquake happened on August 26, 1833. It was a 7.5 earthquake.

Now I need to go pack for my Mount Everest trip tomorrow. I am hoping for good weather!

J

Kapedo, Kenya

April 14, 2011

Here I am, Africa. My exact location is at 1° 10’ 51” N and 36° 6’ 15” E. I am in Kapedo, a tiny little town in Kenya. It is so hot here, I don’t want to move, but I have a trip planned for today. I am going to go to a crater in the area. I heard about it at the travel office and tried to figure out some more about it. Apparently it is part of the East African Rift, which is a sub-portion of the Great Rift Valley. It was created by a divergent boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate.



The divergent boundary in Africa:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/EAfrica.gif

This means that those two plates are moving apart from each other. When this happens, a gap opens up in between them. New lava from the earth’s core bubbles up through this crack and forms new rocks a bit below the original ground level. This new rock continues to push the tectonic plates out more, and so a valley or a crater-like fissure appears in the ground.

Strangely, there haven’t been very many earthquakes in Kenya or in the surrounding area. There are a few volcanoes though. Since the divergent boundary causes magma to bubble up, and this is what an eruption is, there have been a few eruptions in Kenya, although not in the last few decades. The most recent eruption was in 1921, and the oldest recorded eruption was in 6550 BCE.

The Barrier Volcano:

http://asset.nordicphotos.se/watermark/johnwarburtonlee/np06032389.jpg

 

What is also currently happening in this area is that the East African Rift is causing the African plate to split into two new plates. They have been named the Somali Plate and the Nubian Plate. The two new plates are being formed, because the lava that is bubbling up at the divergent boundary is putting so much stress on the African plate that it is beginning to crack.

I need to get ready for my trip to go see the crater, if I want to make it back to town before midnight. I will let you know how my excursion went in my next post.

J

Istanbul, Turkey

April 10, 2011

            I’m in Turkey now, another place I haven’t been. I am in Istanbul, the largest city in Turkey. Its coordinates are 41° 1’ 7” N and 28° 57’ 53” E.

A view of Istanbul:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Istanbul_Montage_Wikipedia.jpg

Today I visited a museum, and even though I generally don’t enjoy museums, I had a fun time and learned a lot. Apparently, Istanbul is 20 km north of the North Anatolian fault. This fault is a strike-slip fault that is made by the transform boundary between the Eurasian Plate and the Anatolian Plate. This means that the two plates are sliding by each other and bumping into each other.

The North Anatolian Fault:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Anatolian_Plate.png

This transform boundary causes lots of earthquakes. The most recent earthquake was a 6.1 earthquake in 2010 that killed 51 people. The largest recorded earthquake in Turkey was an 8.0 earthquake in 1668. It killed 8,000 people. Since then there have been more than 30 earthquakes that were over a 5.0 magnitude. A 7.2 and a 7.6 in 1999 left lots of damage. I found this picture at the museum; it is of the damage in 1999.

Earthquake Damage:

http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/filmi_sangeet/media/1999_earthquake.jpg

I left the museum at 5 and headed to the restaurant “Hala” for an early dinner. I had a delicious dish of Turkish ravioli called Manti. It was one of the best meals I have ever eaten and definitely deserves another visit tomorrow!

J

Quito, Ecuador

April 6, 2011

Now I’m in another new country, Ecuador. To be exact, I’m in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. It is located at 0° 13’ S and 78° 32’ W. It is the capital in the world that is closest to the equator.

Quito is also very close to the Andes. It is surrounded by many volcanoes that were created in the same way as the ones around La Paz. The volcano closest to Quito is Pichincha Volcano. Its most recent eruption was in August of 2003. It also erupted several times in the 19^th century, although its largest eruption was in 1660, when it coated nearby Quito with about 10 inches of ash. Another large active volcano near Quito is Reventador. Since 1541 it has erupted more than 25 times, with the largest explosion in 2002, and the most recent one in 2009.

Today I went to visit Reventador, about 95 kilometers northeast of Quito. Here is a picture of it.

Reventador:

http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1502-01=&volpage=photos&photo=116071

Ecuador also has a bit of a history of earthquakes. The most recent one was a 6.8 earthquake in 2007, but others include a 7.2 in 1998 and another 6.8 in 1949. The largest was an 8.8 in 1906.

After coming back from my Reventador excursion today I went to the Mare Nostrum restaurant, where I enjoyed a rice dish with many different seafood components. After that exciting day, I retired to my hotel room, where I am now. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings!

J



La Paz, Bolivia

April 3, 2011

Here I am, in South America, my first time here. I’m in La Paz, one of the Bolivian capitals, the highest capital in the world. The exact location of La Paz is at 16° 30’ S and 68° 08’ W. La Paz is located in one the valleys of the Andes Mountains.

The Andes are one of the world’s highest mountain ranges. They were formed by convergent subduction of the Nazca plate and the South American plate. The heavier Nazca plate forced the South American plate upwards and slid underneath it. As it slid downwards, it got closer to the earth’s core, which heated the plate until it started to melt. The melted plate bubbled upwards to the surface through the South American plate, creating a volcano. The Andes is made up of lots of volcanoes that were created like this.

A day or two’s drive from La Paz there are two volcanoes, Olca-Paruma, and Irruputuncu. The last time Olca-Paruma exploded was in 1967, and the last known eruption of Irruputuncu was in 1995. I am planning to go visit at least one of the two in the next day or two.



Mount Olca-Paruma: http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-05=&volpage=photos&photo=109079



Mount Irruputuncu: http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/volcano.cfm?vnum=1505-04=&volpage=photos&photo=109077

The subduction boundary that created the volcanoes and makes them explode also causes earthquakes. Sometimes when the plates come together, one doesn’t slide under the other easily, and instead they bump against each other, creating an earthquake. About 200 miles north of La Paz there was an 8.2 earthquake in 1994. There was also a more recent 6.9 earthquake in the city of Potosi in 2005. Other than that, there have not been any major earthquakes in Bolivia in the recent past. This is most likely due to the fact that Bolivia is farther inland in South America, and therefore farther away from the subduction zone.

After a day of learning about volcanoes and earthquakes here in Bolivia, I went to La Casa de los Paceños for dinner. I had a delicious dish of “Sajta”; chicken in a spicy sauce. It was a bit too spicy for me, but other than that, I enjoyed my dinner greatly. I think I’ll go back tomorrow and try something less spicy.

J



I'm off

Hey Everyone,

After finishing high school, I've decided to take a tour around the world. I'm off to visit plate boundaries, the places on earth where massive earthquakes happen or where lava spews from mountain tops. First off, I'll be going to the Andes Mountains. Then I’ll be heading to Turkey's North Anatolian Fault. After that, I’ll be traveling to the East African Rift, before my second to last stop in the Himalayas. For my last stop, I've decided to visit a place where I've always wanted to go... an island in Indonesia, Krakatoa-the volcanic Island that exploded in 1883. After that exciting journey, I'll be coming right back home to plan another trip!

I'm heading to the airport in an hour to start my journey. I'll update you at every stop of the trip. You'll feel as if you were coming with me the whole way!

J