what is tectonic earthquake

If you continue with this browser, you may see unexpected results. Finally, in the mid-1960s, researchers in the United States and Great Britain came up with a theory that explained why the Earth shook [source: Silverstein ]. Fires can spread due to gas pipe explosions. People may be killed or injured. An earthquake is the shaking and vibration of the Earth's crust due to movement of the Earth's plates (plate tectonics). An earthquake is the shaking and vibration of the crust due to plate tectonics (movement of plates). At what sort of plate boundaries might earthquakes take place? An earthquake is the creation of new land formed by molten rock pushing through gaps in the Earth's crust. The focus is the point inside the Earth's crust where the pressure is released. The Richter scale is logarithmic – an earthquake measuring 7 is 10 times more powerful than one measuring 6 and 100 times more powerful than one measuring 5. How does a seismograph work? Describing how and why earthquakes occur, this text introduces geological science and the use of seismology to detect movement beneath the earth's surface. Earthquakes occur along fault lines, cracks in Earth's crust where tectonic plates meet. The theory, called plate tectonics, is that the Earth's crust, or lithosphere, comprises many plates that slide over a lubricating asthenosphere layer. Seismographs are basically pens suspended over a paper-covered rotating drum. Earthquakes are caused when the Earth moves closer to the Sun. plastic like layer of the mantle. The epicentre of the 7.0-magnitude earthquake was only 25 kilometres from the country’s capital, Port-au-Prince. Sed in general earthquakes and plate tectonics three diffe types of tectonic plate tectonic plates cause earthquakes how plate movement affects earthquakes Tectonic Plates And How They Cause Natural Disasters Earthquake Explorers Tm Energy released by an earthquake is in the form of: The distance of an earthquake from the focus to the epicentre. Earthquakes can happen along any type of plate boundary. They fit together like a grand jigsaw puzzle - some parts are made up of continents and other parts of oceans. What is a primary effect of an earthquake? the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy in the Earths lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Scientists have looked at a host of potential warning signals, or "precursors," including foreshocks, weird animal behavior, and changes in the water table, stream flow, well levels, and patterns of electrical currents in the ground. Graphic diagrams provide further explanation. An earthquake starts deep below the earth’s surface at the focus. Earthquakes are caused when humans extract too much material from the Earth's crust. When this happens pressure builds up. Earthquakes are caused when plate boundaries pull away from each other. Earthquakes can happen along any type of plate boundary. The most severe damage caused by an earthquake will happen close to the epicentre. Tectonic earthquakes are explained by the so-called elastic rebound theory, formulated by the American geologist Harry Fielding Reid after the San Andreas Fault ruptured in 1906, generating the great San Francisco earthquake. Earthquake energy is released in seismic waves. What is the Richter scale? The point on the Earth's surface that is directly above an earthquake is called the: 6. Try it now below to obtain your first hand experience about the devastating earthquake. The breaking of a tectonic plate did happen, and while it came as a huge shock, the world continued functioning normally. 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