Using the layer list, turn on and explore the Recent Earthquakes layers. What patterns do you notice about the locations of earthquakes relative to the tectonic plate boundaries?

Click on the largest feature on the map: the biggest earthquake symbol. What is the earthquake’s magnitude? PAGER stands for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response. PAGER is an automated system that takes in seismic data from remote sensors around the world in order to rapidly estimate earthquake shaking and provides fatality and economic loss impact estimates following significant earthquakes. Was a PAGER alert issued for the earthquake you selected?

Turn off the two Recent Earthquakes layers but leave the other layers, including the Historical Quakes layer, visible. Then switch the Recent Earthquakes layers back on, but turn off the Historical Quakes layer. What differences in patterns of earthquakes do you notice between recent and historical earthquakes, especially in comparing their patterns in relation to the tectonic plate boundaries?

What is the last earthquake you can recall hearing about in the news or on social media? Turn the Recent Earthquakes layers back on and use the map’s zoom tools or enter a place in the search bar (by clicking on the magnifying glass icon) to focus the map on a location; for example, in the search bar you can type “Papua New Guinea,” “Tokyo,” or “Haiti.”

Consider again where earthquakes are located. Identify and explain the spatial patterns you can find at convergent, transform, and divergent plate boundaries. To see a convergent plate boundary in the western Pacific Ocean, type “Japan” in the search bar. To see a transform plate boundary in the Northeast Pacific, type “Baja, California” in the search bar. To see a divergent plate boundary in the southeast Pacific Ocean, type “Easter Island” or “Galapagos Islands” in the search bar. How does the location, frequency, and magnitude of earthquakes vary among plate boundary types?

Turn on the population (WorldPop) layer (if necessary, zoom into a country or city to see it in more detail) and consider the relationship between densely populated areas and earthquake hazards. Identify areas where there are large populations near lots of large earthquakes in Oceania. Zoom out to consider the relationship between population and earthquakes in the world in general. Which populated regions of Oceania and the rest of the world have the highest density of large earthquakes?