The Nepal earthquake was caused by subduction of which plate beneath which plate?

• A. Indo-Australian plate subducting beneath the Eurasian plate.
• B. Divergent boundary where plates move apart.
• C. Transform boundary with lateral slip.
• D. Collision of two continental plates.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is how plate movements at convergent boundaries produce strong earthquakes through compression and thrust faulting. In this case, the India portion of the Indo-Australian Plate is moving north and colliding with the Eurasian Plate, causing the Indian plate to underthrust beneath Eurasia. That subduction beneath the Eurasian Plate generates intense horizontal compression in the crust, which can rupture along thrust faults and release a large earthquake like Nepal’s.

This is the best description because it explicitly names the subduction process driving the compression that leads to the quake. Divergent boundaries (plates moving apart) and transform boundaries (plates sliding past each other) involve different motions and faulting styles, so they don’t match the Nepal event’s mechanism. While the region is part of a continental collision, focusing on the subduction of one plate beneath another best captures why such a large earthquake occurs there.