Earthquakes
Terms
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- epicenter
- The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus.
- seismograph
- A device that records ground movement caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth.
- anticline
- An upward fold in rock formed by compression of Earth's crust.
- Richter scale
- A scale that rates seismic waves as measured by a particular type of mechanical seismograph.
- magnitude
- The measurement of an earthquake's strength based on seismic waves as they move through Earth.
- fault
- A break in the Earth's crust where slabs or rocks slip past each other.
- syncline
- A downward fold in rock formed by compression in Earth's crust.
- normal fault
- A type of fault where the hanging wall slides downward, caused by tension in the crust.
- stress
- A force that acts on rock to change its shape or volume.
- folds
- A bend in rock that forms where part of Earth's crust is compressed.
- earthquake
- The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath the Earth's crust.
- tension
- Stress that stretches rock so that it becomes thinner in the middle.
- seismic waves
- A vibration that travels through Earth carrying the energy released during an earthquake.
- shearing
- Stress that pushes a mass or rock in opposite directions.
- Mercalli scale
- A scale that rates earthquakes according to their intensity and how much damage they cause.
- strike-slip fault
- A type of fault where rocks on either side move past each other sideways with little up-or-down motion.
- S wave
- A type of seismic wave that moves the ground up and down or side to side.
- moment magnitude scale
- A scale that rates earthquakes by estimating the total energy released by an earthquake.
- reverse fault
- A type of fault where the hanging wall slides upward.
- hanging wall
- The block or rock that forms the upper half of a fault.
- deformation
- A change in the volume or shape of Earth's crust.
- focus
- The point beneath the Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and causes an earthquake.
- compression
- Stress that squeezes rock until it folds or breaks.
- fault-block mountain
- A mountain that forms where a normal fault uplifts a block or rock.
- footwall
- The block or rock that forms the lower half of a fault.
- surface waves
- A type of seismic wave that forms when P and S waves reach the Earth's surface.
- P wave
- A type of seismic wave that compresses and expands on the ground.
- plateau
- A large area of flat land elevated high above sea level.