Our Physical Environment

Module 10- Volcanoes, Deformation and Earthquakes

Volcanoes
1. Draw and describe a shield volcano in detail.

Low profile has thinner lava that travels far.

2. Draw and describe a composite volcano in detail.

Shaped like a cone with a high peak , made of ash, tephra, lava, and pumice.

3. Draw and describe a cinder/scoria cone volcano.

Made from lava, has one hole at the top, the “classic” volcano.

4. List three elements that can be expelled from a volcano.

Gas, lava, tephra.

5. Describe how the viscosity of lava impacts the ability of gases to escape and therefore the
explosivity of the volcano.

Gas can escape from the lava easier if there is low viscosity.

Earthquakes
6. Describe the difference between primary and secondary waves.

Primary waves: Fast, push/pull, cause less damage.

Secondary waves: Slower, up/down, cause more damage.

 7. Explain the difference between the epicenter and the hypocenter/focus of an earthquake.

Epicenter: above where an earthquake happens, is on the surface.

Hypocenter: point in the earth where the earthquake happens, on a fault.

8. What are two of the three scales discussed in the text that we can use to measure the
power/magnitude of an earthquake?

Wave amplitude and fault size.

9. At which type of plate boundary would we expect the possibility of a tsunami after an
earthquake?

Convergent plate boundaries.

10. What part of the contiguous United States would we expect to experience a larger amount of
earthquake activity and why?

California because it is over the San Andreas Fault.