Geological Hazards - Basics
This sudden shaking of the ground happens when energy is released along a fault.
What is an earthquake?
Plates slide past each other horizontally at this type of boundary.
What is a transform boundary?
This 1883 volcanic eruption caused a tsunami and was one of the loudest sounds in history.
What is Krakatoa?
This renewable energy comes from sunlight, excites electrons in panels, and works best in open areas.
What is solar power?
This fuel forms when tiny marine organisms are buried under sediment, and over millions of years, heat and pressure turn them into a liquid.
What is oil?
This hazard occurs when loose rock and soil slide downhill due to gravity.
What is a landslide?
Volcanoes and strong earthquakes occur at this plate boundary.
What is a convergent boundary?
The Valdivia Earthquake and the Huascaran Avalanche were caused by the Nazca Plate colliding with this plate.
What is the South American Plate?
These natural resources, like iron, gemstones, and natural gas, cannot be replaced quickly because they take millions of years to form.
What are nonrenewable resources?
Formed from ancient swampy forests, this carbon-rich rock can be found 50-100 meters underground and releases large amounts of CO2 when burned.
What is coal?
This hazard occurs when the ground collapses because underlying rock dissolves.
This process happens when one tectonic plate sinks beneath another.
What is subduction?
Along with geologic features such as elevation and soluble rock, the Oso Landslide, the China Floods, and the Guatemala Sinkhole were all triggered by an excessive amount of this.
What is rain?
Hydroelectric energy relies on this moving natural resource to spin turbines and create electricity.
What is water?
What is natural gas?
This type of map shows areas likely to flood based on past events and elevation.
What is a floodplain map?
Strong earthquakes are least likely to occur at this boundary type.
What is a divergent boundary?
An earthquake triggered a landslide which triggered this natural disaster (the largest ever recorded).
What is the Lituya Bay Tsunami?
Managing resources so that they can continue to provide for future generations is called this.
What is sustainability?
This type of environmental accident can happen during earthquakes or landslides when pipelines or rigs are damaged.
What is an oil spill?
Changes in snowpack stability help experts predict this hazard on mountains.
What is an avalanche?
This is the driving force behind plate motion, caused by heat moving through the mantle.
What are convection currents?
Salmon populations that recover after disturbances like the eruption of Mount St. Helens are examples of this type of resource that can be naturally replenished.
What is a renewable resource?
This type of energy works best in wide, open areas or near coasts where this is strong and consistent.
What is wind?
Extracting energy from underground sources can be risky because earthquakes or drilling accidents may release this potent greenhouse gas.
What is methane?