Research Paper On Iceland Earthquake

Iceland’s Earthquakes On May 29th, 2008, at approximately 15:46 hours, a doublet earthquake shook south western Iceland. A doublet earthquake is a pair of similarity sized earthquakes that occur close to each other in time and location. The earthquake happened about 31 miles southeast of the capital, Reykjavik. The Quake had a magnitude of about 6.3. The depth of the quake was about 9.0 km. One of the towns affected by the earthquake was Selfoss. Selfoss is a smaller Icelandic town with a population of approximately 7,000 people. Selfoss is located 31 miles southeast of Reykjavik. One resident of the town Selfoss said it was just another normal day until all of a sudden; the ground felt like it was moving. The resident, who is a store clerk,

It is located where two tectonic plates meet. The two tectonic plates on Iceland are called North American and Eurasian. Both of the two plates meet towards the middle of Iceland. Iceland was created by the divergent oceanic boundary of the two plates. Divergent plate boundaries are created when the lithosphere is lifted by the rising current. The current then flows beneath the lithosphere. The plate material is being dragged along with the flow, which then causes the crust to stretch and break apart. This process also created the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is formed where the North American and Eurasian plates meet. Although the Mid-Atlantic ridge is formed all across the two plates, the ridge on Iceland is very

The quake that happened in 2000 had about a 6.5 magnitude. There was no one killed by the May 29th quake, but there were about 20 people who reported minor injuries. Although there were no major injuries, there was great structure damage. Some roads and bridges had to be closed, making traveling a hassle for some people. People who live in Iceland have adapted and are prepared in case an earthquake happens. An example of the people have adapted are by building homes that can withstand earthquakes. Because of this there were no homes that collapsed. In response to the earthquake there were rescue teams to help people, schools, and hospitals. A hospital in Selfoss had to be evacuated because of the quake. I was surprised that no one got injured with evacuating a hospital. If there were people who were dependent on machines or in critical condition, I am not sure how they would be evacuated. I am guessing anyone that was in critical condition had to stay in the hospital while others who weren’t had to be