Exploring Earthquakes

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Exploring Earthquakes

• By Dylan Ian

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How many original super continents did Wegners
theory of continental drift assume?

• Wegners theory of continental drift assumed of
  one super continent called Pangea (meaning
  landmass).

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What are the major plates that effect the United
States the most?

• The plates that effect the United States the most
  is the Gorda plate and the North American plate
  on the edge of California.

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Why is there so many Earthquakes in California
but Florida doesnt?

• California has so many Earthquakes because
  California has one of the biggest faults in the
  United States.

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What is considered the most destructive
Earthquake in History? When did it occur, where
was it, and what was the magnitude and how many
people died?

• The most destructive Earthquake in history is the
  1556 Shaaxi Earthquakes or Hua County Earthquake
  magnitude 8. 830,000 people died. It occurred the
  morning of January 1556 AD.

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What are the three basic types of plate
boundaries?

• The three types of plate boundaries are
• Divergent Boundary Plates that move away.
• Convergent Boundary Plates that come together.
• Transform Boundary Plates that split the crust
  and go in opposite directions.

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What are tsunamis, what causes them? how fast do
they travel?

• Tsunamis are waves caused by the displacement of
  water from an earthquake, they usually move
  about 600 mph.

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What are two types of energy waves created by an
earthquake, and how do they differ? Which one
travels faster?

• The two types of energy waves are
• Primary waves comes first.
• Secondary wave comes second.

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How much more energy is released by a 7.2
earthquake than by a 6.2 earthquake?

• The energy released by 7.2 earthquake is ten
  times more powerful than a 6.2 earthquake.

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What applications does seismology have besides
measuring the magnitude and location earthquakes?

• Seismology provides us with information on the
  internal structure and state of matter of the
  interior of the earth.

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Where did most of the earthquakes happen last
week?

• The place were most of the earthquakes happened
  last week was California because California is
  right on the north American plate and the Gordon
  plate.

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Can scientists predict Earthquakes?

• Earthquake prediction is not currently not
  possible in the world of science right now.

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How do scientists know where an earthquake
actually occurred.

• They use data collected from seismograph stations
  as possible (you need at least three) and perform
  a calculation called triangulation. This involves
  using p and s wave travel times recorded at each
  station to find the distance of the Earthquake
  from each seismograph. Once you have all the data
  you can plot circles of the approximate radius on
  a map. Where all the circles meet up is the
  epicenter.