Earthquakes: One of the Most Potent Natural Powers on Earth

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Earthquakes in General

By: Jonathan Levron
“Earthquakes are one of the most potent natural powers on earth and regularly affect people around the world. Unlike often equally destructive severe weather events such as hurricanes and tornadoes, earthquakes can hit at any time. Earthquakes can also have a array of magnitudes with the strongest having disturbing consequences for the zones where they are concentrated, nearby areas, and even some far away in the instance of earthquake-generated tsunamis” (Briney 1). We think that the ground beneath us is unmoving but the earth’s crust is constantly moving and the destructive forces caused by this moving are called earthquakes. I will be talking about several topics: What causes earthquakes, two types of earthquakes, what their affects are, and what we are doing to predict future earthquakes.
“Until fairly recently, geologists and other scientists were not totally sure what caused earthquakes. Now with swelling technology, the result of better monitoring, and an enhanced understanding of plate tectonics, they are able to give more solid explanations for them” (Briney 1). The first topic is what causes earthquakes but first let’s talk about the earth’s crust. The earth’s crust is comprised of massive rocks called tectonic plates. “There are a few handfuls of main plates and dozens of smaller, or minor, plates. Six of the majors are named for the continents embedded within them, such as the North American, African, and Antarctic plates. Though smaller in size, the minors are no less significant when it comes to shaping the Earth. The tiny Juan de Fuca plate is mostly responsible for the volcanoes that dot the Pacific Northwest of the United States. The plates make up Earth's outer shel...

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Works cited
Briney, Amanda “Earthquake Facts: An Overview of Earthquakes” December 14, 2010
“Moving and Shaking”
“Fault”
“Seismic Waves”
“Historic Earthquakes”
"How does a seismograph work? What is the Richter scale?" 01 April 2000. HowStuffWorks.com. 30 March 2014.
“6 THE 'RIPPLE EFFECT' ." The Economic Consequences of a Catastrophic Earthquake: Proceedings of a Forum . Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 1992 .

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