Page 130 - SST Class 07

ARCTIC OCEAN Himalayas. About 25 percent of
ARCTIC OCEAN
the seismic events are recorded
Arctic Circle
here.
EUROPE Mid-Atlantic Ridge Belt : The
NORTH ASIA
PACIFIC NORTH NORTH NORTH Mid-Atlantic Ridge Belt includes
OCEAN AMERICA ATLANTIC
OCEAN PACIFIC
OCEAN
the Mid-Atlantic ridge and the
Tropic of Cancer
adjoining islands. It records
AFRICA
Equator
moderate earthquakes which are
INDIAN OCEAN
SOUTH
AMERICA caused due to the moving of the
Tropic of Capricorn
AUSTRALIA
lithospheric plates in opposite
SOUTH
SOUTH
PACIFIC ATLANTIC
OCEAN directions.
OCEAN
The earthquake belt in India is
VOLCANOES SOUTHERN OCEAN
Antarctic Circle
mainly confined to the Himalayan
ANTARCTICA
region and the Ganga-Brahma-
World—Distribution of Earthquake Belts
putra valley. About two-thirds of
The slow and mild tremors are more frequent
India is earthquake-prone. In the last 50 years,
and are generally not noticed. Violent earth-
earthquake tremors have been experienced even
quakes cause serious damage to life and prop-
erty. They may cause landslides in
hilly areas, cracks in the earth’s crust, ZONE 1
bursting of river dams and blocking ZONE 2
ZONE 3
of rivers, raising or lowering of the ZONE 4
ZONE 5
sea floors or coastal regions. CHINA
PAKISTAN
Distribution of Earthquakes TIBET
No part of the earth is free from
earthquakes. But, in some areas, NEPAL BHUTAN
earthquakes occur more frequently.
The main earthquake belts on the Tropic of Caner
earth are as under : MYANMAR

Circum-Pacific Belt : The Circum-
BANGLADESH
Pacific Belt includes the coastal
margins of North America, South ARABIAN BAY
OF
SEA BENGAL
America and East Asia. These
regions account for about 65 percent ZONE 1 Intensity 5 or below
(moderate)
of the total earthquakes of the world. ZONE 2 Intensity 6 (strong)
This belt coincides with the Pacific ZONE 3 Intensity 7 (very strong)
ZONE 4 Intensity 8 (destructive)
Ring of Fire. (INDIA) LAKSHADWEEP ZONE 5 Intensity 9 and above
(very disastrous)
Mid-Continental Belt : The Mid-
Continental Belt includes the Alpine SRI
LANKA
mountains, Mediterranean Sea,
I N D I A O C E A N
northern and eastern Africa and the
India—Earthquake Zones

Social Science-7 130