Fiji

Koro Nabukelevu   Taveuni This week in my blog I will be discussing Fiji’s volcanic activity. There are three main volcanoes located in Fiji which are Koro, Nabukelevu, and Taveuni. Koro is a group of basaltic cinder cones that are located between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. Many of these cones are less than 10,000 years old, but are not likely to erupt.  Nabukelevu is an andesitic-dacitic lava dome complex. This volcano is located at the end of Kadavu Island. Nabukelevu has not erupted in over 10,000 years, but is still proposes dangers to Fiji. A main hazard from Nebukelevu is that debris from the complex can cause issues by damaging near by coastlines. Also, earthquakes  can cause avalanches and landslides of debris and volcanic rock to slide into the ocean, disrupting the underwater life. “Three fault lines run through Nabukelevu, making the volcano prone to failure.”(Volcanoes of Fiji).  The Taveuni volcano is so massive that it forms the third largest island

In my last post I shared with you all that Fiji is very close to the Fiji plate, therefore, it is not to any surprise Fiji's seismicity is very high. According to the USGS website, the most recent earthquake had occurred on February 5, 2018 in Lambasa  which projected a magnitude of 4.2. However, seven hours prior to this earthquake another earthquake, at a magnitude of 4.5, struck Ndoi Island. Even though these magnitudes may seem relatively normal, Fiji has also experienced high magnitude earthquakes. According to Earthquake Track , the largest earthquake to hit Fiji this year had a magnitude of 6.4 in Levuka, Fiji.  With earthquakes always disturbing the islands of Fiji, it is prevalent that action must be taken to ensure the safety of the people. The residents do all that they can to make others aware of the earthquakes that frequently occur. A committee is brought together every year to address procedures on what to do during an earthquake and to discuss eva

In this weeks blog, I will be focusing on the concept of plate tectonics and the distance from Fiji to the Fiji Plate boundary. According to Natural Hazards:Earth's Processes as Hazards, Disasters, and Catastrophes, written by Edward Keller and Duane DeVecchio, Fiji is approximately 100 miles from the Fiji Plate.  However, Fiji is also located near the Indo-Australian and the Pacific Plate boundaries which make for a very complicated plate boundary history.  Within the Keller and DeVecchio's text, they specify that there are there types of plate boundaries: divergent, convergent, and transform. Divergent boundaries occur when new crust is created because the plates move away from each other. Convergent boundaries occur when crust is destroyed by two plates move toward each other. Transform boundaries occurs when no new crust is created due to the plates sliding past each other in opposite directions. The Fiji Plate has convergent boundaries, which result in many earthquakes an