Earthquakes : A Product Of Transform Faulting

The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake tectonic setting was in the outermost shell of earth known as the crust this is composed of rigid plates that have been moving for hundreds of millions of years. Two of these moving plates meet in western California; the boundary between them is a zone of faults, the principal one being the San Andreas fault. The horizontal sliding of the Pacific Plate relative to the North American Plate, causes earthquakes along the San Andreas fault and similar plates near the region. The San Andreas fault is a transform plate boundary, accommodating horizontal relative motions (usgs.gov).

Earthquakes occur when two tectonic plates slide past each other. The point where plates get in contact is called the fault. Seismic waves radiate from the focus on the earthquake. The focus is the breaking point of the fault. The seismic waves cause the ground to shake at different powers depending on how close the focus is to the epicenter. The way we measure an earthquake's power is with the Richter scale.

Earthquakes are caused when two blocks of earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where the two blocks slip is called the fault. The earthquake starts below the earth’s surface at the hypocenter, and the location above the hypocenter is called the epicenter. Earthquakes can have foreshocks which is a smaller earthquake that happens before the larger quake. Earthquake can also

Earthquakes are common environmental catastrophes which occur as a result of overwhelming stress being released within the earth. The location of the San Francisco Bay Area is extremely vulnerable to megathrust earthquakes

What is an earthquake and why do they happen? : An earthquake is vibrating of the ground caused by the rapid breaking and motion of large parts of the earth’s rocky outermost crust. Earthquakes

The most common cause of earthquakes is movement along faults. Earth’s crust is divided into tectonic plates, which grind past each other at fault boundaries. As tectonic plates move,

Earthquakes are a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust. You can’t know when or how much the damage of the shock will be. I think that predicting earthquakes is a bad science because of how often and not they happen.

Earthquakes are a common natural disaster that have a great impact on our population."A earthquake is the shaking of the earth surface, it releases energy in the lithosphere creating seismic waves"(The Science of earth). A seismic area refers to the frequency type and size of the quake. This is measured

An earthquake is the shaking of the earth by seismic waves radiating away from the disturbance, most commonly fault movement. The great Chilean earthquakes origin was of the coast of Chile at a subduction zone, referred to as a hot spot for seismic activity.

An earthquake is the shaking of the earth by seismic waves radiating away from the disturbance, most commonly fault movement. The great Chilean earthquakes origin was of the coast of Chile at a subduction zone, referred to as a hot spot for seismic activity.

Apparently, I lived under a fault line that runs thru the entire East Coast. Earthquakes are measured in magnitude. Magnitude is the size or extent of an earthquake. The one my family and I had experienced measured at a magnitude of 5.8. It was a sunny warm day in August of 2011 and my family and I were inside going about our business when suddenly my dad's cup of water started to shake. He thought my little sister and brother were jumping on the bed upstairs causing the floor to shake. Not a second later the ground and the house started to shake violently. Some things in my house started to fall and break. We all ran out of the house as fast as we could. Everyone on my street was running out of their houses faster than I can blink. During the earthquake, I heard a loud explosion. Kids from one street over were screaming and yelling. Loud sirens could be heard from almost every direction. My Grandfather made us laugh as he told us that while he was parking his car at the store it began to shake and he thought it was a bunch of kids pushing on the back of his car. Even for him and at 71 years old, this was the first time he had ever experienced an earthquake. Luckily, no deaths and only minor injuries were

     An Earthquake is the shaking of the earth's surface caused by rapid movement of the earth's rocky outer layer. The sudden shaking of the ground that occurs when masses of rock change position below the Earth's surface is called an earthquake. The shifting masses send out shock waves that may be powerful enough to alter the surface of the Earth, thrusting up cliffs and opening great cracks in the ground.

Earthquakes as a natural hazard have occurred way too often, so now we understand them perfectly. The intensity or magnitude of earthquakes are measured by a seismograph. It is measured using the Richter scale. Earthquakes with magnitudes lower than 03 are hardly noticeable but those that are 07 or above tend to cause major damages to the human settlements. Time and again through history, there have been incidents of earthquakes destroying towns and cities. One such historic earthquake was the infamous 1906 San-Francisco Earthquake. Earthquakes usually cause the shaking and displacement of the land which causes buildings to fall down and cause casualties. If close to the ocean, they might even cause tsunamis. The science of an earthquake is such that the tectonic plates under the ground cause strain and they move, causing earthquakes. Earthquakes usually occur naturally but in some rare cases they might even be a result of human activities (Daily, 2017). Some earthquakes are also caused by volcanic activity, landslides or even events such as mine blasts and nuclear experiments.

Earthquakes are very interesting natural phenomena. It cannot be predicted by any amount of science that is present today. It can cause great destruction but the only thing to do is prepare for it. An earthquake can occur for many reasons. The boundaries of the plate tectonics are the reason for Earthquakes. The earthquake taken place was on the San Andreas Fault, which is a Transform boundary. A transform boundary is when two plates slide along each other. This can cause many earthquakes but are usually relatively small. The two plates that are present are the Pacific plate and the North American plate. The San Andreas Fault runs along the coast for about 1300 km. The plate has a displacement and is considering by scientists as right-lateral strike-slip. This can be best described as if you were standing on one side of the plate, North American, and when you stand there the plate would move to your right.

     Earthquakes are a major catastrophe and can be a big threat to human lives. To understand earthquakes you must have a clear definition, know its mechanisms, be able to recognize the size and dynamics and understand its effects: