On Earthquakes Essay - 1670 Words

On Earthquakes An earthquake is a shaking or trembling of the crust of the earth caused by underground volcanic action or by the breaking and shifting of rock beneath the surface. The volcanic action and shifting rocks create strain which continues to build to a sudden release of pressure resulting in a shock wave. The vibrations produced in the crust can vary from barely noticeable to enormously destructive. Shock waves can be classified into two broad categories. Waves that send particles oscillating back and forth in the same direction as the waves are traveling are called primary. Primary waves, sometimes called compressional waves, travel through the earth beneath the crust. Secondary†¦show more content†¦The modern seismograph was invented early this century by a Russian seismologist, Prince Boris Golitzyn. This device made possible the modern era of earthquake research. Although earthquakes have occurred and affected mankind for as long as humans have been around, historical records are either lacking or considered unreliable before the middle of the 18th century. However, some records do exist and date major earthquake events back to 425 BC when one occurred off the coast of Greece resulting in an island named Euboea. Another occurred in Asia Minor about AD 17 and another leveled much of the Roman city of Pompeii in AD 63. During the Middle Ages, severe earthquakes struck England, in 1318; Naples, Italy, in 1456; and Lisbon, Portugal, in 1531. Casualties from major earthquakes have resulted in the greatest disasters in history. The worst occurred in 1556 in the Shannxi (Shensi) Province in China and killed an estimated 800,000 people. During the 18th century, the Japanese city of Edo (site of modern day Tokyo) was struck and killed 200,000. Earthquakes in Sicily in 1693 and Lisbon in 1755 each killed about 60,000 people. In 1797, approximately 40,000 died when Quito, Ecuador was struck. Historically, the most powerful earthquakes to strike North America occurred in 1811 and 1812 in southeastern Missouri. However, the most famous earthquake to strike in North AmericaShow MoreRelatedEarthquake : Earthquakes And Earthquakes Essay1854 Words   |  8 PagesEarthquake is defined as â€Å" a series of vibrations induced in the earth s crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating.† in dictionary.com. In other word earthquake is crust release energy caused by shaking and plate tectonics are suddenly move.It may cause people injuryed and economic losses. Earth s surface crust is called lithosphere. The earth s crust ruptured by the force of dislocation caused by rapid surface vibrations called seismicRead MoreEarthquake Of The Sichuan Earthquake1203 Words   |  5 PagesThe Sichuan Earthquake also known as Wenchuan Earthquake occurred on May 12th, 2008. The horrific earthquake was located in the mountainous dominant region of Sichuan, south-western China. The earthquake was measured to have a magnitude of 8.0 by the Chinese. The quake affected four-fifths of the buildings located in the area. Towns, villages and schools had collapsed and had been destroyed. Close to 90,000 people were tallied as missing or dead. The Chinese Government report stated that more thanRead MoreAn Earthquake Of The Francisco Earthquake984 Words   |  4 Pages21 October 2015 1906 San Francisco Earthquake An earthquake is the vibration of the Earth produced by the rapid release of energy. Most earthquakes occur at a plate boundary, usually along the Circum-Pacific belt. They tend to be caused by the slippage along large fracture in the Earth’s crust, such as a fault for example. However, they can also occur from a volcanic eruption, or an atomic explosion. There are two different types of shocks to a major earthquake; there is a foreshock and an aftershockRead MoreEarthquakes : Volcanoes And Earthquakes1313 Words   |  6 PagesVolcanoes and Earthquakes are Sisters, Not Twins Volcanoes and Earthquakes are two of the most intriguing natural disasters that can occur on earth. Unlike hurricanes and tornadoes, they can awaken at almost any point in time throughout the year. These two natural disasters are also different from others because they occur on the layers of the earth itself. Volcanoes, while large to us, are actually small, conical patches of earth that spurt and ooze hot molten lava from the core, and can destroyRead MoreEarthquake : The Seddon Earthquake2165 Words   |  9 Pagesand only 45 being over magnitude 4. (see image 2). From the earthquake features discussed, we can see that despite the Seddon earthquake having a greater magnitude and similar type of fault movement, it was the fact that the Christchurch earthquake carried a lot more power and force with its initial ground movement and shaking, and its continual aftershocks, that the effects of this earthquake were much worse than the Seddon earthquake. Read MoreThe Earthquake Of Nepal Earthquake1914 Words   |  8 PagesEarthquakes are destructive natural disasters that have the potential to occur. Earthquakes greatly impact various locations around the world. Generally, earthquakes typically only last for a few brief moments but they can greatly impact a society. One of which include the Nepal Earthquake of April 25,2015. This particular earthquake flattened large parts of the capital Kathmandu and also, caused destruction throughout the already improvised Himalayan nation. The earthquake in Nepal was the mostRead MoreThe Earthquake Of Christchurch Earthquake2405 Words   |  10 Pages impact, recovery, responses and future steps of the 2011 M6.3 Earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand. Helena (Jiahui) Zhang 250641678 November 18 2014 Geography 2152F Mark Moscicki Table of Contents 1.0 Description of Event 2 2.0 Causes 3 3.0 Impacts 5 4.0 Responses 7 5.0 Recovery 8 6.0 Suggestions for future steps 10 7.0 Bibliography 11 1.0 Description of the Event The Christchurch earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 (Ritcher scale) hit New Zealand’s secondRead MoreEarthquakes Disasters Caused By Earthquakes1564 Words   |  7 PagesEarthquakes are an unfortunate consequence of, well, living on earth. While other hazards such as volcanos, tornados, floods, and wild fires all have clear visual indications that allow for us humans to get away from them, earthquakes are much more insidious than the aforementioned disasters because they have no such indicator and the damage they inflict is near instantaneous. Luckily for us humans, seismologists have spent a good portion of the 20th century finding out why earthquakes occur, howRead MoreThe Great Chilean Earthquake : An Earthquake1508 Words   |  7 PagesThe Great Chilean Earthquake An earthquake is the shaking of the earth by seismic waves radiating away from the disturbance, most commonly fault movement. The great Chilean earthquakes origin was of the coast of Chile at a subduction zone, referred to as a hot spot for seismic activity. A subduction zone is a region on the crust of the earth where two tectonics plate meet one another. The area where the two plates meet is called a plate boundary. When two plates meet at a subduction zone, they convergeRead MoreWind, Earthquake And Its Effect On The Earthquake Essay905 Words   |  4 Pages Unlike wind, earthquake is a different phenomenon which generates a ground motion. The intensity or acceleration of the earthquake depends upon the magnitude and location of its epicenter. The seismic waves caused by the earthquake cause inertial forces in the building. The inertial forces are created when an outside force tries to move a body in rest which happens in this case as seismic waves tries the move the building in rest. We all know that when a building is subjected to inertial forces