EARTHQUAKES by Joel

WHAT IS AN EARTHQUAKE? An earthquake is a shaking of the ground caused by the sudden breaking and movement of large sections (tectonic plates) of the earth's rocky outermost crust.

WHERE DO EARTHQUAKES HAPPEN Earthquakes could happen anywhere, anytime, it just happens. And its scary when your in one.

WHAT CAUSES EARTHQUAKES? The edges of the tectonic plates are marked by faults (or fractures). Most earthquakes occur along the fault lines when the plates slide past each other or collide against each other.

WHY DOES THE EARTH SHAKE DURING AN EARTHQUAKE The earth shakes because of when the tectonic plates collide they rub together that makes the earth shake.

WHAT ARE AFTER-SHOCKS Most aftershocks are located over the full area of fault rupture and either occur along the fault plane itself or along other faults within the volume affected by the strain associated with the main shock. Typically, aftershocks are found up to a distance equal to the rupture length away from the fault plane.

HOW IS (TUSUNSMI) RELATED TO AN EARTHQUAKE Tsunamis can be generated when the sea floor abruptly deforms and displaces the overlying water. Tectonic earthquakes are a particular kind of earthquake that are associated with the earth's crust deformation; when these earthquakes occur beneath the sea, the water above the deformed area is displaced from its position. Waves are formed as the displaced water mass, which acts under the influence of gravity.

HOW DO SCIENTISTS MEASURE EARTHQUAKES There are two ways in which scientists quantify the size of earthquakes: magnitude and intensity. Magnitude is a measure of the amount of energy released during an earthquake, and you've probably heard news reports about earthquake magnitudes measured using the Richter scale.

CAN SCIENTISTS PREDICT EARTHQUAKES? No and it is unlikely they will ever be able to predict them. Scientists have tried many different ways of predicting earthquakes, but none have been successful. On any particular fault, scientists know there will be another earthquake sometime in the future, but they have no way of telling when it will happen.

What environmental impact do earthquakes have? The violent earthquakes not only destroy human population but also submerge land under seas. Sometimes rivers disappear or change their courses or get flooded. It can also cause landslides, fires, tsunamis and destroy forests. Well, earthquakes happen naturally when two tectonic plates grind into each other. But, when it get's too strong, this is when we can feel it. Most people take earthquake in a negative way, but earthquake is one of the proofs that tells us that earth is still active.

BIBLIOGRAPHY I found all my info on: everythingabout earthquakes.com/science ray.