

Earthquakes Essay

913 words - 4 pages

Christina OBanion
Instructor Kryger
February 28, 2010

Earthquakes have been happening for a long time, but now we are able to help detect where and possibly when these events might happen. They now seem to be getting stronger than they were in the past and even more frequent. No matter when or where earthquakes happen people always need to be aware that they have the potential to be devastating for those close by, or even those who are on the other side of the world.
Earthquakes happen several different ways and I will try to explain this. The Earth has different types of plate margins that can cause earthquakes. The first type of plate margin is called the ...view middle of the document...

This stress causes the Earth to rupture causing the earth to shake and quake. An earthquake happens when there is a build-up of stress in the earth’s crust caused by plate movement at a fault line of plate margin. The crust is a collection of crustal plates that move past, under, or over each other and then recede back. When the stress increases beyond the strength of the lithosphere rock this will cause a fracture, this fracture can cause an earthquake at these boundaries.
When pressure builds up along the fault lines and eventually slips, this sends out shock waves. The shock wave is the motion where the energy is transformed from the source of the earthquake to the surface of the Earth. An example would be if a person threw a rock into a pond or lake the ripples from the rock hitting the water would then spread out in all directions, so under the earth’s crust the energy from the magma trying to find a way to the surface causes movement of the tectonic plates and this is why the earth moves with quakes and shakes.
In 1935 Charles Richter created an instrument that is still used today to measure the magnitude of an earthquake; this device is called the Richter magnitude scale. The Richter scale is a logarithmic scale that measures ground movement with a seismograph and can calculate the magnitude of an earthquake by the height of the waves listed on the seismograph. Each whole number increase in Richter magnitude means that the ground motion of the quake is ten times the amount of the previous number.
Another type of measurement for earthquakes is the intensity scale. This is measured, in terms of...

Other Papers Like Earthquakes

Earthquakes: Dangerous & Natural Energy Essay

634 words - 3 pages Earthquakes: Dangerous & Natural Energy William Jacoby Kaplan University Online SC-300 Big Ideas in Science Professor Hall March 8, 2010 There are patterns in the distribution of earthquakes in the continental United States; they can be noted in the following ways. There is an area in the southern part of the Midwest around the borders of Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee areas that is more at risk than other areas of the country, as

Dangerous and Natural Energy Earthquakes Essay

1028 words - 5 pages States National Seismic Hazard Maps a lot of the west coast as far south as Hawaii, and north to Alaska has a lot of earthquake activity. The Pacific “Ring of Fire” (named for the large amount of active volcanoes), has a lot of tectonic activity. Tectonic plates are large plates of rock that make up the foundation of the Earth's crust and the shape of the continents. Question: What patterns do you see in the distribution of earthquakes across the

Magnitude of Earthquakes

2615 words - 11 pages Economic Growth is the increase per capita gross domestic product (GDP). There is a distinction between nominal and real economic growth, where the first is the growth rate including inflation, while the second is the nominal rate adjusted for inflation. Moreover economic theorists distinguish short-term economic stabilization and long-term economic growth. The topic of economic growth is mainly related to the long run. Short-run variation of

How Do the Effects and Responses of Earthquakes Differ in Countries of Different Economic Status?

651 words - 3 pages How do the effects and responses of earthquakes differ in countries of different economic status? On the 12th may 2008 Sichuan in China suffered from an earthquake, although China is an NIC Sichuan is one of the poorest states and so the responses and effects of the earthquake will be very different to those in an MEDC such as the 1995 Kobe earthquake. Perhaps the most contrasting effect of the earthquake is the death rate; 6 500 in Kobe and

Discuss The View That The Impact Of Earthquakes Depends Primarily On Human Factors

1736 words - 7 pages Discuss the view that the impact of earthquakes depends primarily on human factors: Earthquakes are caused by movement of tectonic plates that covering the earth’s surface. They occur at all plate boundaries; destructive, constructive and conservative, but the most intense tend to occur at subduction zones and conservative faults, such as the San Andres Fault in California. Every seismic event will be unique, and there are many factors

Discuss the Statement: the Extent to Which Earthquakes Present a Hazard Depends on Where They Are Experienced

1481 words - 6 pages Geography 40 mark EQ question Discuss the statement: The extent to which earthquakes present a hazard depends on where they are experienced. (40 marks) A Hazard is best defined as a situation that’s ‘a potential source of harm or adverse health effect on a person or persons’. An earthquake is a tectonic event which can be a huge hazard to people- particularly effecting areas of the earth around convergent, divergent and transform plate

L.A. Hazard Assessment

649 words - 3 pages Los Angeles is one of the largest cities in the United States and one with the highest risk of earthquakes. Los Angeles is an urban environment that has high infrastructure which increases hazards associated with earthquakes. There are many factors that lead to the current knowledge of past, current, and future earthquakes occurrences. We are better able to understand where and why earthquakes are likely to occur and to be proactive to their

Plate Tecttonics Press Release

982 words - 4 pages Plate Tectonics Press Release Public Education on Earthquake Preparedness By Krystle Wilson March 28, 2014 Los Angeles, CA – Earthquakes occurs frequently in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas in California. I would like to take some time today to discuss earthquake preparedness and discuss descriptions of hazards associated with earthquakes in Los Angeles. I will also discuss the origin and causes of earthquakes, relation to

Earth Quake Report

587 words - 3 pages Physics Project Earthquake Report Earthquakes are vibrations produced in the earth's outer layer, or crust, when forces pushing on a mass of rock overcome the friction holding the rock in place and blocks of rock slip against each other. The vibrations can range from barely noticeable to very destructive. There are 6 types of shock waves. Two are classified as body waves which means they

The Earthquake in Assam

843 words - 4 pages Earthquakes happen rarely and when they do, they cause a lot of damage to both the geology of the area and the geography. They are the most powerful natural forces that can happen at any time. Geologists and scientists define earthquakes as vibrations of the earth's surface that occurs as a result of a release of energy in the earth's crust. The plates of the earth are constantly moving and small earthquakes can occur more often but they are not

Plate Tectonics

932 words - 4 pages Plate Tectonics Nicole Anderson GLG/220 Dr. A. Kem Fronabarger November 7, 2011 What is an Earthquake and where do they come from? Many people are unaware of what an actual earthquake is and how they come to be. There are several myths that have been created to help people understand how earthquakes have been produced. In Japan, legend has it the earth is shaken by the movement of a giant catfish hidden in the ground. The Chinese

Related Essays

Earthquakes Essay

904 words - 4 pages Assignment: Earthquakes Axia Colleges of the University of Phoenix By To understand why the Earth moves the way that it does along and through its diverse layers, we must have a better understanding of the physical science surrounding both plate

Earthquakes Essay

1892 words - 8 pages Throughout history, man has made many advancements. These advancements have been made to make life easier. The one thing man can't do is to control Mother Nature. Mother Nature can cause many things such as earthquakes. The causes of earthquakes have been theorized in many ways. According to the book Predicting Earthquakes by Gregory Vogt, the Greeks, "blamed the earthquakes on Poseidon, god of the sea"(25). The Hindu believed that

Earthquakes Essay

1127 words - 5 pages Earthquakes are one of Mother Nature’s most powerful forces and have plagued our lives for as long as people have inhabited the earth. These dangerous acts of the earth have been the cause of many deaths in the past century. So what can be done about these violent eruptions that take place nearly without warning? Predicting an earthquake, until now, has almost been technologically impossible. However, with recent improvements in technology and

Geology; Earthquakes Essay

1071 words - 5 pages Chapter 11 Earthquakes What is an earthquake? An earthquake is the vibration of earth produced by the rapid release of energy. Energy released radiates in all directions from itâ€™s source, the focus Energy is in the forms of waves, sensitive instrument around the world record the event Earthquakes and Faults Movements that produce earthquakes are usually associated with large fractures in Earthâ€™s