Earthquakes Essay

Earthquakes occur almost all over the world and often cause many casualties and injuries, but it is a common misconception to think that all earthquakes or even most of them cause destruction. In fact, most earthquakes aren’t even strong enough to be felt by humans and most animals, and can only be recorded by seismometers that are strategically placed in all corners of the world in order to get a reliable and precise reading on the earthquakes strength. Another common misconception about earthquakes is that people believe that the injuries and deaths that result from earthquakes are because of the earth’s shaking itself, whereas it is in fact usually because of heavy items falling from the incessant vibrations. Earthquakes can be defined as

This sudden break results in an overwhelming amount of energy that in turn causes the seismic waves the make the ground shake. Friction is the result of two large rocks or tectonic plates rubbing against each other and often getting caught along each other’s edges. When these plates stick to each other, an energy and pressure buildup will occur that will ultimately makes the rocks break. This breaking results in an earthquake, but during and after this rapture, the broken pieces of rock will continue to move until they meet again. Where ever the two plates meet in the earth’s crust is called the focus of the earthquake whereas the spot directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the earthquakes epicenter.

Seismic waves are energy waves that are caused by the sudden breaking of rock in the earth’s crust, or because of an explosion caused by man; these waves travel through the earth and can be recorded by seismographs. There are many different types of seismic waves, but the two main types are surface waves, which can only move on the earth’s surface like a sort of ocean wave, and body waves, that travel through the earth’s innermost layers. Earthquakes make up both surface and body waves. Both surface and body waves can be broken down to two main