Summary:
- Earthquakes at convergent plate boundaries mark the location of the subducting lithosphere.
- The motion of the lithosphere as it plunges through the mantle causes the quakes.
- At greater depths, the plate heats up enough to deform plastically.
- Subduction zones around the Pacific Rim are responsible for many of the world's earthquakes.
- The Pacific Northwest of the United States is at risk from a potentially massive earthquake.
- The collision of two continents also creates massive earthquakes in the Himalayan Mountains.