Page 1/2EOSC-105L – TECTONIC ASSESSMENT REPORT (50 points)
This assignment is due TUESDAY, 9 Nov by 530 PM. Please read and follow all these instructions (often students
lose points simply because they don’t follow instructions).
Topic – Application of Plate Tectonics: Plate boundaries and Associated Hazards.
Task – You’re a consultant geologist for a company in San Diego and you’ve been asked to evaluate a particular site
for its natural hazard risk. Your assignment is to answer the questions below and submit them to your supervisor.
From the specific region inside the red circle on the map, answer each question clearly and concisely, IN ORDER,
and NUMBERED. These questions are only about and/or refer to the region circled (which is the land affected by the
line with little triangles). In order to identify this, you must be able to read a tectonic map, like I‘ve done in lecture.
NOTE: Your answer to question 2 below must be rather detailed and complete – about 80% of your paper. It
will be a large portion of your grade. It refers to the earlier Plate Tectonics lectures (mostly), and also
introductory Earthquakes and Volcanoes lectures.
Length – Length of report: minimum 450 words (answers only). A short report means a short grade! Please do not
re-write the questions. Just answer them, numbered, and in order. Do not go too much beyond this limit.
References – You shall not use any references. The report should be written in your own words and should be based
strictly on lecture notes and your own understanding of the subject. Use your own words only — No plagiarizing
allowed. It’s okay, however, to write down any lecture notes verbatim, but plagiarism percent should be no more than
15%-18%.
Submission – You will submit your assignment in SafeAssign, in Bb only, by uploading your Word file – 1 file only
– must be Word (or PDF). Do not email me your paper (under any circumstance, including being late), as it must go
through the plagiarism tool. Do not attach a .pages or .webarchive file.
Note: No late papers accepted at all. Do not wait till last minute, as SafeAssign will not process your paper.
NOTE: This map is taken from the (important) Plate Tectonics lecture when
I discussed the 3 plate boundaries in detail.
Numbers on map are velocity of plates in cm per year. Must include units.
Page 2/2
QUESTIONS: From the map above:
1. What type of plate boundary exists here in this circled region? (one-word answer only)
2.
Explain IN GREAT DETAIL the tectonic regime or boundary you think is going on here (i.e., is it continental
rifting, subduction, mid-ocean ridge, hot spot, continental collision, etc.?); Where is it? What types and names
of plates are involved here?
In great detail, tell me ALL you know about this kind of tectonic boundary, based on the multiple lectures on
Tectonics and first part of Earthquakes and of Volcanoes.
3. List any and all natural hazards that you think are possible in this region. List only; Do not explain.
4. What specific plate boundary exists directly southeast of this circled area (type and name)? At what velocity is it
moving? (must include units.)
Your supervisor asked you to investigate this area further in terms of its Mass Wasting hazards. You took a photo
and drew the sketch below, since you felt that populations here were in danger. You know that this was all discussed
in lecture, so you’re ready to tackle these questions below. Each picture is a different hazard. Recall that I discussed
about 8 mass wasting hazard types in lecture. Images very similar to these are discussed in lecture.
5. What is the most clear and obvious mass wasting hazard or type in this photo 1 below? Explain your answer fully,
based on all the evidence that you clearly see, and which I also discussed in lecture. (very short paragraph)
Image 1
weak
sediments
6. And what is the most clear and obvious mass wasting hazard or type in this image 2 below? Explain your answer
fully, based on all the evidence that you clearly see, and which I also discussed in lecture . (very short paragraph)
Photo 2
End of report. Again, do not include the questions.