Does ground shaking cause the greatest damage in

an earthquake?
This photo shows the Mission District of San Francisco burning after the 1906 earthquake. The
greatest damage in earthquakes is often not from the ground shaking but from the effects of that
shaking. In this earthquake, the shaking broke the gas mains and the water pipes so that when the
gas caught fire there was no way to put it out. Do you wonder why the people standing in the street
are looking toward the fire rather than running in the opposite direction?

Earthquake!
An earthquake is sudden ground movement caused by the sudden release of energy stored inrocks.
Earthquakes happen when so much stress builds up in the rocks that the rocks rupture. The energy is
transmitted by seismic waves. Earthquakes can be so small they go completely unnoticed, or so large
that it can take years for a region to recover.

Elastic Rebound Theory

The description of how earthquakes occur is called elastic rebound theory (Figure below).

Elastic rebound theory. Stresses build on both sides of a fault, causing the rocks to deform plastically (Time 2). When
the stresses become too great, the rocks break and end up in a different location (Time 3). This releases the built up
energy and creates an earthquake.

Focus and Epicenter

In an earthquake, the initial point where the rocks rupture in the crust is called the focus.
Theepicenter is the point on the land surface that is directly above the focus (Figure below).

In the vertical cross section of crust, there are two features labeled - the focus and the epicenter, which is directly
above the focus.

In about 75% of earthquakes, the focus is in the top 10 to 15 kilometers (6 to 9 miles) of the crust.
Shallow earthquakes cause the most damage because the focus is near where people live. However,
it is the epicenter of an earthquake that is reported by scientists and the media.

Summary

A sudden release of energy stored in rocks causes an earthquake.

The focus is where the rocks rupture. The epicenter is the point on the ground directly above
the focus.
Most earthquakes are shallow; these do the most damage.

Review
1.
2.
3.

How does elastic rebound theory describe how an earthquake takes place?
Where is an earthquake's focus? Where is its epicenter?
Why do shallow earthquakes cause the most damage?

Explore More
Use this resource to answer the questions that follow.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

What is the San Andreas Fault?

What is the speed that this process along the San Andreas is happening?
What did Harry Fielding Reid base his elastic rebound theory on?
What is elastic rebound theory?
What happens at the time of the earthquake?
What happens in an earthquake that's large?
How likely is a large earthquake to happen in the Bay Area in the next 30 years?

[Figure1]
Some events happen very quickly; others occur very slowly, over a time period much
longer than one can observe.

Some things happen fast. Some things happen more slowly.

Some things are easy to predict. Some things are hard to
predict. We know the Sun will be up in the sky tomorrow.
We know the oceans tides will rise and fall. Earthquakes
are not as easy to predict.

[Figure2]

[Figure3]

Earthquakes make the ground shake. The reasons we have

earthquakes are well known. We mostly know where they
will occur. Earthquakes can come without warning.
Scientists study earthquakes to learn more about them.
Engineers study earthquake to find ways to keep us safe.

[Figure4]

Scientists study the Earth. The Earth is not solid. Its crust is
broken up into plates. These plates move around.
Earthquakes occur along the edges of these plates. Some
plates easily slide past each other. In other areas, the
plates get hung up. It is these areas where earthquakes
occur more often.

[Figure5]

Scientists know that earthquakes will occur. They have

learned a lot about these areas. If the plates get hung up,
they cannot move. The pressure between them can build
for many years. It can take a long time before the plates
suddenly break free and move. Why is it important to know
where earthquakes will occur?

[Figure6]

It may be a long time before an earthquake occurs.

Scientist know that an earthquake will occur. They know
where they will occur. The question is always, when will
they occur? Why is it important to know when they will
occur?
Engineers use what has been learned about earthquakes.
They look for ways to keep us safe. They look for safer
ways to build homes. They study how large buildings will
react. They design things to be flexible. Why do you think
being flexible is better?

[Figure7]

[Figure8]

The plates of the Earth move very slowly. They only move a
couple of centimeters per year. This slow movement
causes big changes over time. Scientists learn about these
changes to keep us safe. The more they learn, the safer we
will be.

[Figure9]

The _____ is the point on the land surface that is directly above the focus.

a
Epicenter

b
Pericenter

c
Seismic zone

d
None of the above
In San Francisco which of the following disasters is most likely to occur?

a
Earthquakes

b
Floods

c
Lava flow

d
None of the above