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Earthquakes
• The Vibration or shaking of earths crust by
rapid movement of rocks in the
lithosphere.
– Occur mostly along faults
– Frequently near areas where plates meet
– Caused by sudden release of energy
– Release of energy sends out seismic waves
which cause the ground to shake
EARTHQUAKES AND FAULTS
• An earthquake is caused by the sudden release
of energy stored in rocks along a fault
REVERSE FAULT
TRANSFORM
FAULT
TRANSFORM FAULT
SAN ANDREAS FAULT
FREQUENT
EARTHQUAKES
NORTH SAN ANDREAS
FAULT
PACIFIC PLATE
WEST SIDE
MOVES NORTH
WEST EAST
NORTH
AMERICAN
PLATE
EAST SIDE
MOVES SOUTH
SOUTH
Richter Scale
• Measure of Magnitude of Earthquake on a scale
of 1-10
2.0) 2.0)
• 55,000 died
• 8.6 magnitude
• 3 shocks, first one lasted 6-7 minutes
• Tremors felt in Sweden (2000 mile away)
– That’s like a California quake being felt in New
York
China
• 1949-1976, 37 year period, 27 million
people killed
• In 1966 two earthquakes
– March 6 – 6.8 magnitude
– March 22 – 7.2 magnitude
Products of Earthquakes
1. Collapsed buildings and fires
Products of Earthquakes
2. Tsunami (Japanese for harbor wave)
– Largest in Lituya Bay, Alaska, 1958, 1600 ft
high
– 35,000 died in Indonesia from Krakatau 1883
– Need a magnitude of 6.5 or greater for a
significant tsunami
– 1300 ft wave evidence in Australia triggered
by a Hawaiian slide
Products of Earthquakes
3. Volcanic Eruptions
– Pompeii (79 AD)
Earthquake Safety
• Get Outdoors
• Store emergency supplies
– Water, flashlight, radio, food, medicines
• Build earthquake proof buildings
• Have an evacuation plan/know emergency
shelter locations
• Click here to see some earthquake videos
• More Earthquake videos
Seismograph
• Detects and records seismic waves
– Minimum of three (3) seismographs are
needed to locate an epicenter.
– Seismogram: Seismograph machine print out
One station can determine A radius
as to how far away the epicenter
was.
With two stations, there are two
possibilities where the epicenter
could be
Three stations will give you the one
place the epicenter could be
Seismic waves
Earthquake Location
• Focus: where the earthquake actually
originated underground
S WAVES
CANNOT PASS
THROUGH THE
LIQUID OUTER
CORE
3. SURFACE OR LONG WAVES
Do more
damage
because they
produce
more ground
movement
VELOCITY OF SEISMIC
WAVES
• Velocity depends on the material they are
passing through
a. Increase density and pressure – greater the velocity
b. Waves are refracted or bent as waves pass through
materials with different densities
P & S Waves
• Shadow zones exist
on earth because
S-waves cannot go
through liquid core.
Calculating the distance to the
epicenter
• The greater the difference between the
arrival of P & S waves, the greater the
distance to the epicenter (the farther away
the earthquake is).
– Ex. Lightening and Thunder
• Flash and then a boom
Which is closer, which is farther?