(Image from worldatlas.com)
When these two plates converged, the subducting plate went into the asthenosphere as magma rose to form island arcs above the overriding plate.
(Image from "Making Earth's Basic Configuration" notes)
As the shifting plates move toward each other, the stress in the Earth's crust causes folding and faulting of Ibiza's rock layers. When the plates compress together, the strata bend resulting in anticlines and synclines which make the rock layers appear bent up and down. As faulting occurs, the fast movement of rock results in a change of the sediment layering. The rock snaps and shifts in a very short amount of time which can cause natural disasters such as landslides to occur.
(Picture from www.landslide.org)
This is a picture demonstrating the power that faulting can have on local residencies of Ibiza.
Sources:
"Geological History." Ibizaa-z. 2007. 8, Feb. 2012. www.ibizaa-z.com.
Pidwirny, M. (2006). "Crustal Deformation Processes: Folding and Faulting". Fundamentals of Physical Geography, 2nd Edition. 10, Feb. 2012. http://www.physicalgeography.net
Nice post, I've always wanted to visit Ibiza myself, I hear Armin Van Buuren spends a lot of time there! After reading your post I was surprised to find that Ibiza has devastating landslides. I guess I always thought of it as a perfect island paradise. But since you pointed out that it is directly on between the Eurasian and African plates I guess this makes sense. I am curious though, exactly how often do disasters like landslides and what not occur in Ibiza? Is it a fairly common event? Or can I go there to party without having to worry about the club getting destroyed by an unexpected landslide?
ReplyDelete-Jacob Hirschman
When you explained how the plates are shifting and creating the rock layers I found that very interesting. The way that you explained how the strata bend makes the anticlines and synclines made more sense to me. I could kind of picture the plates compressing together and having so much pressure that they created the landscape of Ibiza. I am looking forward to learning more about this interesting island. Comment by Kaitlin Rains
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