Caribbean:

     Hey Amazing Race fans! I have just arrived a few hours ago at the first destination, The British Leeward Islands! I went touring on Antigua when I arrived, and it's beautiful. There are super sandy beaches and pretty blue water. Right now I am having lunch at the The Galley Bay Resort and Spa in Antigua where I am staying. The hotel has amazing Fungie (foon-jee) and passion fruit juice! Later, I will be exploring Barbuda and can't wait to sun bathe on the beach. This will be a totes relaxing place for the Amazing Race contestants!

Puerto Rico Trench
http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/hazards/tsunami/jan05-10.htm

     Now for the science. This Caribbean island, Antigua, is located near the subduction boundary of the North American Plate, South American Plate and the Caribbean plate. A subduction zone or boundary is when two plates collide together (two oceanic, or one oceanic and one continental) and the less dense plate will start to ride over the other plate. Then, the denser plate goes under the other plate and descends into the earth's athenosphere and causing a trench to form. The Puerto Rico trench is located in the Caribbean. 

     Earthquakes and volcanoes are also effects of subduction zones. The Caribbean Plate grinds against the North American Plate and causes earthquakes which occur often in the Caribbean Islands, but many of them are to small for people to notice. Volcanoes also occur commonly. The last major volcanic eruption was in 1995 on the island of Montserrat (volcano soufriere hills), so be on the lookout when you are traveling in the Caribbean because it could erupt at any moment!

-Jessica ;)

Latitude: 17° 7'5.58"N
Longitude: 61°50'41.55"W

Example of a Subduction Boundary
http://www.marin.edu/~jim/ring/rsubd.html

St. Johns, Antigua, Caribbean
http://www.bahighlife.com/Destinations/25-great-reasons-to-vist-the-Caribbean.html

New Zeland:

     Sup guys! This will be my last update because New Zealand is my last stop! So sad  :( I had an amazing week and hopefully I will be able to come back to these wonderful places! Well, anyways, I am in New Zealand right now and am making reservations at a restaurant at the Bolton Hotel. I am so excited to go swimming here because it is soooo hot! I think that the amazing race contestants will love it here because it was pretty darn cold in the Himalayas. And P.S., the accents here are so awesome, I hope I can learn it sometime!
     So, what the amazing race contestants will learn, and what I have also learned, is that New Zealand lies on a transform boundary. In a transform boundary, two plates slide past each each other. There aren't spectacular physical features in these areas like there are in other types of tectonic plate areas. These places are usually marked with valleys where the rock has been ground up. In New Zeland, the Pacific plate and Australian plate are sliding along each other and causing the Alpine fault. The Alpine Fault runs along almost the entire length of New Zealand's southern islands and earthquakes along this fault have helped to form the Souther Alps.

Alpine Fault, New Zeland
http://all-geo.org/highlyallochthonous/2010/09/all-quiet-on-the-alpine-fault/

     Transform boundaries are common areas for earthquakes. In new Zealand, the Alpine fault has ruptured four times in the past 900 years and each time causing an earthquake of about 8 magnitude. The most recent major earthquake was in 1100 and there is a 30% chance that it will rupture again in the next 50 years, which would cause major destruction and have a giant impact on very many people. Volcanoes are not as common in transform boundaries because the plates are just sliding past each other. However, in New Zealand, the volcanic frequency is pretty high because other parts of New Zealand have plate boundaries other than transform. Eruptions mostly occur in the north island and the last major eruption was in 1996 on Mount Ruapahu. When you go to New Zealand, make sure you watch out for earthquakes and volcanoes  because they can go off at any moment!

-Jessica ;)

Latitude: 41°17'14.42"S
Longitude: 174°46'24.02"E

Transform Boundary
http://www.gweaver.net/techhigh/projects/period1_2/Yellowstone/Plate%20Tectonics.html

Himalayas:

     Hey peeps! I can't believe I am already in the Himalayas, it is halfway around the world, whcih means I will have to go home soon :( When I checked into Hotel Himalaya I was super duper excited because later today I am going to go tour K2 with my awesome guides Angie and Gleb. They are going to teach me more information about the plate boundaries here! I think this destination will be the toughest for the race contestants because the air up at this elevation is hard to breathe in. They should always be up for a challenge though! I hope they learn something to!
     So, what I know so far, is that the Himalayas are located on a convergent collision boundary. In a collision boundary, two continental plates move towards each other and since they are less dense and lighter, neither of them can move downward. When they collide, the crust slowly builds up and moves upward to form mountains. In the Himalayas, the Indian Plate and the Eurasian Plate collided and formed the Himalayan mountains, which are the highest mountains in the world.

K2 Mountain, Himalayas, Collision Boundary
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/12/K2_2006b.jpg

     Earthquakes are common in the Himalayas and there have been 4 major earthquakes in the last 100 years. In 1933 an earthquake in these mountains killed thousands of people in Nepal and India. However, there are no or very few volcanoes in the Himalayas because it is a collision boundary and there is no subduction occurring. If you ever end up hiking in the here at K2, where I am today, be sure to hire Angie and Gleb as your Sherpas/tour guides because they are amazing. Tell them you are a friend of Jessica's and they will give you a discount ;)!

-Jessica ;)

                                                                                    Latitude: 35°52'52.58"N
                                                                                    Longitude: 76°30'44.57"E

Example of a Collision Boundary
http://nwghost.com/uaist361673s08/hatfield/platemovement/collision.html

Iceland:

     Hey everyone, just updating you guys. I have arrived at my second stop on the scout tour and guess where it is . . . ICELAND! The Caribbean was amazing, but now I will have a large change in scenery.  When I arrived, my friend that lives here and I went to lounge in some of the hot springs. They are so cool! Right now I am getting ready at Hotel Borg for a dinner night out in Reykjavik. I can't wait to see the city and learn more about the tectonic boundaries in Iceland.
     When the contestants arrive here, they will be learning about the tectonic plate boundary this area lies on. Iceland is a country located on a divergent boundary. A divergent boundary is one where the two plates are moving apart from each other. The crust between the plates cracks and sinks down into the athenosphere. Then, magma comes up and fills the cracks forming new crust. These areas usually have rifts, earthquakes and volcanoes.

Example of a Divergent Boundary
http://www.cotf.edu/ete/modules/msese/earthsysflr/plates3.html

    In Iceland, the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate are splitting along the mid-ocean ridge and causing a rift to form down the middle of it. In the rift, there are many volcanoes. The last major eruption was in 2011 from the volcano Grimsvotn. Earthquakes are also very common here but many of them are small and don't cause much destruction. Tomorrow I'm going to visit Grimsvotn and look at the northern lights. Also, if you ever travel to Iceland, make sure you bring a bathing suit. It might seem too cold but the hot springs are super warm!

-Jessica ;)
                                                                           
                                                                                Latitude: 64° 8'7.06"N
                                                                                Longitude: 21°53'37.74"W

Iceland Divergent Boundary
http://www.kids-fun-science.com/divergent-boundary.html

Volcano and Northern Lights in Iceland
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/volcano-aurora-iceland

Introduction

Hello everyone!

My name is Jessica and I just graduated from the University of Washington and am starting my first real job. My job is to scout areas for the next season of The Amazing Race, Tectonic Edition! In this edition of the amazing race, each team will learn more about the tectonic plates the earth's crust includes at each destination. I will be visiting a few different sites near the different tectonic boundaries. These include Divergent, Collision, Transform and Subduction boundaries. Each of the plates move against each other and very slowly move the crust into different places. I am very excited for this opportunity and can't wait to visit all these amazing places! My flight leaves tomorrow to the first destination, Antigua and Barbuda. I will keep you all updated as I travel throughout the world and the tectonic plates!

-Jessica ;)

DISCLAIMER: Not a real blog, it is for a school earth science project.