The Causes And Types Of Earthquakes On The Earth

Earthquakes have the potential to destroy and cause a lot of harm or they just make the ground shake a little. Sometimes earthquakes with low magnitudes cause a lot of harm, and a high magnitude one causes a small amount of damage. This usually isn’t the case. Two Earthquakes with high magnitudes each caused a different amount of damage. These two are the earthquake that happened in Sumatra, Indonesia in December 26, 2004, and the earthquake that happened in Rat Island , Alaska in April 2, 1965.

Volcanoes and Earthquakes are two of the most intriguing natural disasters that can occur on earth. Unlike hurricanes and tornadoes, they can awaken at almost any point in time throughout the year. These two natural disasters are also different from others because they occur on the layers of the earth itself. Volcanoes, while large to us, are actually small, conical patches of earth that spurt and ooze hot molten lava from the core, and can destroy areas of land triple their size. Earthquakes, on the other hand, are severe jolts felt on land due to the movement of earths tectonic plates. Some may describe earthquakes as being similar to riding a bike down a flight of stairs. The impact of an earthquakes can take down even the largest buildings and strongest structures. All natural disasters can have damaging effects on land, some more than others, and all can be measured or predicted in different ways. Although earthquakes and volcanoes are similar to each other, the two are still very comparable. A few of these similarities and differences include the cause of their occurrence, and how their occurrence impacts the environment.

When people hear the word earthquake the first thought is fear. For many the word earthquake is associated with loss of life, homes, and total destruction. The phenomena are described as a vibration in earth’s surface caused by eruptions or movements along a fault line. Earthquakes are not restricted by boundaries and time zones they have occurred in areas all over the globe. The brief description previously mentioned is only a portion of what earthquakes are. In actuality the movement of plate tectonics below the earth’s surface influences how earthquakes begin. According to United States Search and Rescue Task Force (2000), “Huge plates that form the Earth's surface slowly move over, under, and past each other. Sometimes the movement is gradual. At other times, the plates are locked together,

In recorded history, there have been 151 earthquakes in Nevada that were a magnitude of 3.5 or higher. As previously mentioned, the mountain ranges of Nevada are typically bound on one side or the other by a fault. There are quaternary faults that range in ages from less than 150 years to around 1.8 million years in existence. The property damage in Nevada from earthquakes was .2 million dollars between 1196 and 2014 based on information from department of energy for the state. As we studied in our textbook, earthquakes can by a number of things, such as shifting faults, or volcanic

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 typically occur in relation to other earthquakes. After shocks that follow earthquakes, typically occur around the same fault break as the original earthquake or can occur on nearby fault lines as well. Earthquakes can also be triggers for future earthquakes occurring on the same fault line or neighboring fault lines anytime from seconds to years after the orginal mainshock. “In recent decades, scientists have learned that faults and earthquakes communicate with one another in far more diverse and interesting ways than the classic foreshock – mainshock – aftershock” (Hough 1).

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,

Earth is a life giving planet. It is also true that it’s never at rest. It is in a daily course of revolution and rotation, making us experience not only night and day, but also seasons. This planet goes through many changes that brings wonders, but also catastrophes. These forces of nature leave damages and deaths all over the world. One of these cataclysm is earthquakes. What exactly is an earthquake? An earthquake is the ground shaking caused by the sudden movement of one block or rock slipping past another along the faults (Lutgens, Tarbuck). There is a process that causes an earthquake to happen. First it involves the heating, followed by

People tremble when they hear the word; destruction, and tragedy: all words that come to mind when “earthquake” is heard. Earthquake is a natural calamity that has the power to destroy human lives in a few seconds; it is responsible for the huge damage to living and non-living things. It occurs without warning and can cause millions of money in destruction and deaths and also it is one of the most unpredictable and devastating occurrences Mother Nature dishes out. There is a sudden slip in the earth’s crust, which makes the earth shake causing mass destruction to buildings and people in the surrounding areas. These areas in the earth’s crust are called faults; the ground bends to a certain limit until the point of breaking, when it finally snaps, it sends vibrations up to

Earthquakes cause ground shaking events caused by rapid movement of falts pushing past each other. Falts, hypocenters, and epicenters are all related due to earthquakes. Falts are breaks in a rock mass that fit together perfectly with massive amounts of pressure on eachother. Most falts are locked except for very brief moments causeing earthquakes. Understanding where the earthquake originated is nessasary in messureing the scale or magnitude of the earth quake. The Hypocenter or focus is where the falts started pushing past or against eachother. The point on earths surface directly above the hypocenters is the epocenter.

Earthquakes rank as one of the most devastating natural disasters that can occur, causing damage to multiple facets of society. Earthquakes can cause major damage to vital infrastructure, cost human lives, and trigger other events that can cause even more destruction. Throughout history, earthquakes have caused millions, even billions of dollars of damage to cities and towns alike. Much of the destruction resulting from earthquakes is a product of poor design against seismic loads and forces. However as we have become more educated about what causes earthquakes and where they come from, we have been able to better fortify our structures to resist such forces, and have been able to

Ultimately, to fully comprehend a specific earthquake one must know how earthquakes form as well as, how they work. An earthquake is the shaking and vibration of the Earth 's crust. This happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another

     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.

It’s this energy that causes the devastating damage seen on the news. Currently there are no ways of predicting when an earthquake will happen, and thus, they are very dangerous. While it is not possible to predict them, it is possible to measure their strength. The magnitude of an earth quake can be measured using a seismograph which measures the vibration in the ground. These values are then translated into the Richter scale, which is a numbering system ranging from 0-10. Each step in this scale translates to 31 times more energy than the last. This means it follows an exponential curve, meaning the larger the classification the more devastation.