Where is the Kermadec Islands?

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Where is the Kermadec Islands? Blog Image

Overview:

An earthquake of magnitude 6.9 struck the Kermadec Islands region in New Zealand recently.

About Kermadec Islands:

  • They are volcanic island group in the South Pacific Ocean, 600 mi (1,000 km) northeast of Auckland, New Zealand.
  • They are a dependency of New Zealand.
  • The islands are a volcanic island arc, formed at the convergent boundary where the Pacific Plate subducts under the Indo-Australian Plate.
  • They are the tiny emergent part of a chain of submarine volcanoes that define the Kermadec ridge.
  • They are uninhabited, except for Raoul Island where a team of Department of Conservation staff carry out weed control work and make meteorological observations.
  • The climate of the islands is subtropical.
  • The islands are seismically active.

 


Q1) What is a tectonic plate?

A tectonic plate (also called lithospheric plate) is a massive, irregularly shaped slab of solid rock, generally composed of both continental and oceanic lithosphere. Plate size can vary greatly, from a few hundred to thousands of kilometers across; the Pacific and Antarctic Plates are among the largest.

Source: 6.9 magnitude earthquake strikes Kermadec Islands in New Zealand