How Does Global distribution of earthquakes and volcanoes (GCSE Geography, AQA) Work?

Earthquakes and volcanoes happen in special places around the world, just like how your toys might fall out of a bag in certain spots.

Imagine Earth is like a giant puzzle, made up of big pieces called plates. These plates slowly move, like icebergs drifting in an ocean, but instead of water, they’re moving through the ground.

• If two plates crash into each other, it can cause earthquakes, like when you bump your elbow on a table and it shakes.
• If one plate slides under another, it can make volcanoes, just like when you pop the lid off a soda bottle and fizz comes out.

Most earthquakes and volcanoes are found near the edges of these plates. These places are called plate boundaries, and they're like the busy streets of Earth’s puzzle map, lots of action happens there!

Some parts of the world, like Japan or Indonesia, have a lot of earthquakes and volcanoes because they’re right where several plates meet, it's like the most crowded playground in the world for Earth's movements!