4 Stress Over Time

Stress builds up over time between the two plates as they slowly grind against one another. Eventually the stress and strain between the two plates reaches such a level that the rock will fracture and the two plates will suddenly “slip” past one another resulting in an earthquake. It was just such an event, known as a megathrust event, that occurred in Ecuador on April 16, 2016.

Try This!

Plate Strain Rate

You have access to all the layers in The Layered Earth. To view the plate strain layer:

  • Click on the Layer List button located on the right side of the main window.
  • Expand the Plate Tectonics layer by clicking on the expand layer arrow icon.
  • Navigate to: PLATE TECTONICS → TECTONIC PLATES → GLOBAL STRAIN RATE

  • Under the Global Strain Rate layer, click on Scale. Then expand the Strain Map sublayer and click on Base Image.
Did You Know?

Deep Oceanic Trench

The subduction zone between the Nazca and the South American plates has resulted in the formation of a deep oceanic trench off the coast of South America. The Ecuador Trench has a maximum depth of approximately 3.0 km (1.9 miles).