The crack in the earth's crust where stress is suddenly released causing an earthquake.
What is a fault?
These seismic waves can travel through all of the earth's layers.
What are P-waves (Primary waves)?
Where rocks first begin to move in an earthquake.
What is the focus?
Which scale would most likely be used to tell how much earthquake damage was done to homes and other buildings?
What is the Mercalli scale
True or False. Earthquakes can be predicted.
False.
At this type of fault, tectonic plates scrape past each other at a transform boundary.
What is a strike-slip fault
These seismic waves cannot travel through the liquid outer core of the earth.
What are S-waves (Secondary waves)?
The name of the location directly above the focus.
What is the epicenter?
This instrument constantly records ground movement in the earth.
What is a seismograph?
Earthquakes are caused when too much of this has built up in rocks and they can no longer handle it.
What is stress?
What is it called when friction between the opposite sides of a fault is high?
Locked Fault
These seismic waves usually cause the most damage.
What are surface waves?
Most earthquakes occur along these areas because their slow movement causes large amounts of stress to build up over time.
What are plate boundaries?
The minimum number of stations needed to locate an earthquake's epicenter.
What is 3?
A wall of water created when an earthquake occurs in the ocean floor.
What is a Tsunami?
This type of fault is found where rocks are pulling apart resulting in one block of rock sliding downward in relation to the other.
What is a Normal Fault?
a measurable movement of the earth's crust that releases stored energy along faults
What are earthquakes?
This is where the most damage from an earthquake occurs.
What is the epicenter?
The scale that measures the strength of an earthquake based on seismic waves and movement along a fault is called the ____________________ scale.
What is richter scale?
Earthquakes destroy electrical lines and gas pipes which could result in . . .
At this type of fault, one block of rock slides upwards in relation to the other one as a result of them being pushed together.
What is a Reverse Fault?
The direction(s) that seismic waves travel when an earthquake occurs.
What is in all directions?
Which type of stress force produces reverse faults?
What is compression
The most accurate rating system for estimating the total energy released by an earthquake.
What is the Moment Magnitude Scale?
Earthquakes may cause an avalanche of soil. What is this called?
Landslide
The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving toward each other often locations of subduction and mountain building
What is a convergent boundary?
Forces or stresses that act to squeeze or crush an object or substance
What is compression?
Shear stress occurs at a strike-slip fault. What kind of boundary is this?
Transform boundary
The risk of earthquakes is high along the Pacific coast of the United States because . . .
The Pacific and North American plates meet here.
When loose soil and water liquify and destabilize the ground causing buildings to sink or collapse.
Liquefaction
The boundary between two tectonic plates that are moving away from each other
What is a divergent boundary?
forces or stresses that act to pull an object or substance apart
What is tension?
Which of the following can cause damage days or months after a large earthquake?
What is aftershock
A measure of the earthquake's energy
What is the magnitude?
Although people can't predict earthquakes, animals often act strange just before an earthquake. What do people theorize as the reason for this?
Tilting of land
Increased ground water seepage
release of radioactive radon gas
electrical or magnetic changes in earth