Science Common Sense

1380 - Why Taiwan is located at the boundary of tectonic plates and frequently experiences earthquakes that cause disasters

Imagine the Earth's surface is like a big puzzle with lots of moving pieces, called tectonic plates. Taiwan is located on the edge where two of these puzzle pieces meet.

One plate is called the Eurasian Plate and it's moving northwards, while the other is called the Philippine Sea Plate and it's moving northwards as well. These two plates are rubbing against each other, which creates a lot of stress.

Sometimes, this stress gets too strong, and the Earth's surface cracks, causing an earthquake. That's why Taiwan is so prone to earthquakes. This is also why Taiwan has a lot of mountains, like the Central Mountain Range, because the plates are pushing into each other.

When these earthquakes happen, they can cause a lot of damage and create mudslides, landslides, and tsunamis, which are huge waves that can hurt people and buildings.