Geology

Volcanic activity much like earthquakes and tsunami's in the United Kingdom have something in common; they are unheard of. According to  British Geological Survey  , the last active volcano in the UK occurred about 60 million years ago! "The reason why we haven't had any volcanoes for about 60 million years in Britain is that we are now in a in a tectonically quiet part of the world. Most volcanoes occur near the edges of the Earth’s tectonic plates but Britain is now a long way from such geologically active areas." Since the UK is located on a quiet part of the tectonic map, they do not have to worry about volcanos, earthquakes or large tsunami's.  The closest active Volcano's are located  a ccording to  Londonist ,  Vesuvius in Italy and Öræfajökull on the southeast coast of Iceland. Both sites being a little over 1000 miles from London. Londonist states " That being said, prevailing westerly winds in the UK mean that we are unlikely to be dire

Compared to the rest of the world, the seismicity in the UK is low. According to  UKOOG  " On average, the UK experiences seismic events measuring 5 (felt by everyone nearby) every 20 years and events measuring 4 (felt by many people) every three to four years."  I learned that the UK's largest earthquake "was n ear the Dogger Bank in 1931, with a magnitude of 6.1." Although the earthquake in 1931 was 60 miles offshore it was still able to cause major damage to buildings off the coast of England according to British Geological Survey . GBS also reports that " The most damaging UK earthquake was in the Colchester area in 1884. Some 1200 buildings needed repairs, chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked."  map link BBC  was asked why the UK does not get larger earthquakes? they answered   " Most earthquakes happen at the boundaries between the Earth's tectonic plates, where there is the largest amount of stress.  The UK is located in t

The Tectonic Setting and Natural Hazards of the United Kingdom The UK is is located in the middle of the  Eurasian Plate . The Eurasian plates nearest boundary is the Mid-Atlantic ridge. The boundary type of the Mid-Atlantic ridge is divergent. According to  Universe Today , " The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is known as a mid-ocean ridge, an underwater mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It is the result of a divergent plate boundary that runs from 87° N – about 333 km (207 mi) south of the North Pole – to 54 °S, just north of the coast of Antarctica."  While conducting my research, I learned that the UK is currently not on a plate  margin: meaning it is not tectonically active according to  The Geological Study . They state " Over time, a series of tectonic events has resulted in the current location and structure of the UK - in the last 700 million years, we have gradually drifted north from near the South Pole! Evidence of this turbulent tectonic past i