Earthquakes are the shaking, rolling or

sudden shock of the earth’s surface.

Earthquakes happen along "fault lines" in
the earth’s crust. Earthquakes can be felt
over large areas although they usually last
less than one minute.
Earthquakes cannot be
predicted -- although
scientists are working on it!
• Most of the time, you will notice an earthquake
by the gentle shaking of the ground. You may
notice hanging plants swaying or objects
wobbling on shelves. Sometimes you may hear a
low rumbling noise or feel a sharp jolt. A survivor
of the 1906 earthquake in San Francisco said the
sensation was like riding a bicycle down a long
flight of stairs.
• The intensity of an earthquake can be measured. One
measurement is called the Richter scale. Earthquakes
below 4.0 on the Richter scale usually do not cause
damage, and earthquakes below 2.0 usually can’t be felt.
Earthquakes
over 5.0 on the scale can cause
damage. A magnitude 6.0
earthquake is considered strong
and a magnitude 7.0 is a major
earthquake. The Northridge
Earthquake, which hit Southern
California in 1994, was magnitude 6.7.
Earthquakes often occur when tectonic plate
collide

What happens when plates collide? It

depends how the plates are moving when
they meet:

When two plates collide head-on, they push

each other up and form mountains. That's
how the Himalayas and other great
mountain ranges (including the Rockies,
long ago) were created.
When one plate dives below another plate,
it creates a subduction zone as the diving
plate is crushed and melted. This process
often creates volcanoes as the magma
(molten rock)
rises up to the
surface.
When two
plates slide
past each
other, they
create a
transform
fault, like
the San
Andreas
fault.
• Earthquakes: Facts and Fiction
• Fiction: Earthquakes usually happen in the morning.
Fact: Earthquakes happen in both the day and the night.
There is no pattern.
• Fiction: There is such a thing as "earthquake weather."
Fact: There is no connection between earthquakes and
weather. Remember, earthquakes happen deep in the
earth, far away from the weather!
• Fiction: Earthquakes are on the increase.
Fact: It may seem like we’re having more earthquakes
because there are more reporting stations, but the truth is
we’re not.
• Fiction: We can prevent earthquakes from happening.
Fact: No. You can protect yourself by doing things to secure
buildings, like your home, but earthquakes can’t be
prevented -- or predicted.
The point beneath the Earth's surface where
the rocks break and move is called the focus
of the earthquake. The focus is the
underground point of origin of an
earthquake.
Directly above the focus, on the Earth's
surface, is the epicenter.
• Earthquake waves are known as
seismic waves. There are three main types of
seismic waves.
• Each type of wave
has a characteristic
speed and manner
of travel.
• Primary Waves
• Seismic waves that travel the fastest are
called primary waves, or P waves. P waves
arrive at a given point before any other type
of seismic wave. P waves travel through
solids, liquids and gases.
• P waves are push-pull waves. As P waves travel, they
push rock particles into the particles ahead of them,
thus compressing the particles. The rock particles
then bounce back. They hit the particles behind them
that are being pushed forward. The particles move
back and forth in the direction the waves are moving
• Also called Compressional Wave.
Secondary Waves
•Seismic waves that do not travel through the Earth as fast
as P waves do are secondary waves, or S waves.
•S waves arrive at a given point after P waves do. S waves
travel through solids but not through liquids and gases.
•Also called Shear Waves
Surface Waves
•The slowest-moving seismic waves are called surface
waves, or L waves. L waves arrive at a given point after
primary and secondary waves do. L waves originate at the
epicenter. Surface waves travel along the surface of the
earth, rather than down into the earth. Although they are
the slowest of all the earthquake waves, L waves usually
cause more damage than P or S waves.
• This is an image of a seismograph, an
instrument used to record the energy
released by an earthquake. When the needle
is moved by the motion of the earth, it
leaves a wavy line.
• Blue primary waves followed by red
secondary waves move outward in concentric
circles from the epicenter of an earthquake
off British Columbia and Washington State.