Is the Sunda Plate subducting?

The Sunda Arc, which extends from the eastern Himalayan syntaxis to the Banda Arc, is the zone where the Indian-Australian plate or plates are being subducted beneath the Southeast Asian plate.

What kind of boundary did the Sunda Trench form?

The map reveals typical features of a subduction zone: an oceanic trench, a fore-arc ridge, a fore-arc basin, and an island arc. The location of the plate boundary is marked by the Sunda Trench, a narrow band of very deep water that parallels the Sumatran coast.

Is Sumatra a subduction zone?

The Sumatra Trench is a part of the Sunda Trench or Java Trench. The Sunda subduction zone (called also: the Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone) is located in the east part of Indian Ocean, and is about 300 km (190 mi) from the southwest coast of Sumatra and Java islands.

What type of plate is the Sumatran subduction trench?

Indian/Australian plate
The red star shows the epicenter of the 2004 earthquake. This plate boundary is called the Sumatran Subduction Trench, and it is where the oceanic Indian/Australian plate is slowly descending beneath (subducting under) the continental Eurasian plate at a rate of about 4.5 cm/year (2 inches/year).

Where is the Sunda megathrust?

Sumatra
The Sunda megathrust runs south from Bangladesh, curving around the western and southern flanks of Sumatra, Java, Bali and eastern Indonesia to northwestern Australia – all together a length of about 5500 km.

Is the Sunda Plate oceanic or continental?

Tectonic plate and crust are slightly different concepts. So, The Sunda plate is mainly comprised of continental crust. There might be a bit of oceanic crust, but less. The convergence of the Indo-Australian plate with the Sunda plate is an oceanic-continental convergence.

How is Sunda Trench formed?

The Sunda Trench, earlier known as and sometimes still indicated as the Java Trench, is an oceanic trench located in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra, formed where the Australian-Capricorn plates subduct under a part of the Eurasian Plate. It is 3,200 kilometres long with a maximum depth of 7,290 metres.

Is the Australian plate subducting?

The northeasterly side is a complex but generally convergent boundary with the Pacific Plate. The Pacific Plate is subducting under the Australian Plate, which forms the Tonga and Kermadec Trenches, and the parallel Tonga and Kermadec island arcs. It has also uplifted the eastern parts of New Zealand’s North Island.

What is the plate boundary between the Australian plate and the Sunda Plate?

The Sumatra-Andaman portion of the collision zone forms a subduction zone megathrust plate boundary, the Sunda-Java trench, which accommodates convergence between the Indo-Australia and Sunda plates.

Where is the Sunda plate?

Southeast Asia
The Sunda Plate is a minor tectonic plate straddling the Equator in the Eastern Hemisphere on which the majority of Southeast Asia is located. The Sunda Plate was formerly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate, but the GPS measurements have confirmed its independent movement at 10 mm/yr eastward relative to Eurasia.

How Sunda Trench is formed?

What is the Sunda Trench?

The Sunda Trench, earlier known as and sometimes still indicated as the Java Trench, is an oceanic trench located in the Indian Ocean near Sumatra, formed where the Australian – Capricorn plates subduct under a part of the Eurasian Plate. It is 3,200 kilometres (2,000 mi) long with a maximum depth of 24,440 feet (7,450 metres).

What type of subduction is the Sunda subduction zone?

Oblique Subduction at the Sunda Subduction Zone The Indian and Australian Plates plow northeast into the Sumatra subduction zone, part of the larger Sunda subduction zone, at a speed of 45 mm/yr.

Where is the Sumatra Trench located?

Sumatra Trench. The Sunda subduction zone (called also: the Sumatra-Andaman subduction zone) is located in the east part of Indian Ocean, and is about 300 km from the southwest coast of Sumatra and Java islands. It extends over 5000 km long, starting from Burma in the northwest and ending at Sumba Island in the southeast.

Where do earthquakes occur in the Sunda Trench?

As the image illustrates, the earthquakes occurred just east of the Sunda Trench, the deep underwater canyon where the Australia Plate is being pulled under the Sunda Plate. The plates, giant sections of the Earth’s crust, float on a layer of soft rock, propelled by convection currents beneath them.