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Physics of earthquake
Research topic in earthquake
Earthquake and physics
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Earthquakes are one of the most mysterious natural disasters that we deal with to his day. That is the thriller of earthquakes, is the fact that they are so strange and bizarre that it keeps us guessing when the next one is to come. The San Andreas Fault earthquake is the most mysterious, dangerous, and soon to come earthquakes that we still do not necessarily have a date on towards when it will happen. It is quite mysterious how we do not have a date of when the San Andreas earthquake will occur. Before beginning to to crack what makes the San Andreas Fault so strange, we must first break down what the mystery is behind an earthquake. As stated from the article, “The San Andreas Fault”, it states, “The crustal plates of the Earth are being …show more content…
In a recent study done by an article it states, “California sits at the border between two major tectonic plates;The San Andreas is the most worrisome, because it generates the quakes that are really dangerous to California residents” (Zielinski). This confirms that the two major plates seem to have so much power over where it sits on California that the quakes will have a much bigger effect on California and it the people living near the fault. Now there has been talk that California will sink into the ocean as one of the dangers we all face but that is not necessarily true. As stated from the article, “Earthquake Facts & Earthquake Fantasy” it states, At this rate, Los Angeles and San Francisco will one day (about 15 million years from now) be next-door neighbors, and in an additional 70 million years, Los Angeles residents will find themselves with an Alaska zip code” (Earthquake Facts). The strength for earthquake to be able to pull us towards Alaska is incredible, but also a scary thought. There is no way we can deny that earthquakes carry that much force. Research has been done and as stated from a recent article, “Overall, such a quake would cause some $200 billion in damage, 50,000 injuries and 2,000 deaths, the researchers estimated” and also states, “Everything a city relies on to function—water, electricity, sewage systems, telecommunications, …show more content…
As stated from the article, “San Andreas Fault Facts” it states, Parkfield, in central California, pops off a moderate earthquake of around magnitude 6 every couple decades, and is a center for earthquake research. It was the site of the first official earthquake prediction by the U.S. Geological Survey” (Oskin). Throughout research we have a general idea of what is time come but the center for earthquake research still has a lot more work to do. But just because they predict it does not necessarily mean it will come true. As Stated from the article, “Scientists predicted another earthquake should occur in 1993, but it didn't happen until 2004” (Oskin). No matter the amount of time and research we put into we still do not have a direct date. It is a crazy thought to think that with so much research and facts that scientist would be wrong but that is the beauty of earthquakes. As stated from the article, “What will really happen when San Andreas Unleashes the Big One” it states, “While seismologists can’t predict exactly when that will happen, every few years they release a forecast for the likelihood of such an event” (Zielinski). It seems as if this is as far as we will be getting as a date for when this earthquake will occur. We may not have an answer but soon is definitely one of
The Fredonia Earthquake that took place in Fredonia, Arizona on July 21st, 1959 was the largest earthquake to ever strike the state and it triggered a rockslide at Mather Point in the Grand Canyon.
Although there is no way of knowing exactly when an earthquake is going to occur. Scientists have been able to predict an earthquakes range for them to occur. For example, if a fault hasn’t gone off for around 20 years, then this fault is likely to go off in the next five years. This is as close as scientists can get to exactly knowing when an earthquake will occur, although this can still help people to be prepared to some extent. We know that an earthquake will occur with the tectonic plates movements and with them either colliding, sliding or doing both against each other. An earthquake will occur with the force of these movements, but depending on the strength of the movements depends how strong the earthquake is on the Richter Scale (see source 5) or on a Seismograph (see source 6).
The scenario mentioned above was based on the rupture located along the Cascadia fault line. This fault system runs from Northern California to Vancouver Island about 700 miles off the shore (FOX5). Scientists use to believe that the San Andreas Fault was where a large earthquake tsunami would originate, but recently their attention has shifted to the Cascadia subduction zone which is now said to be much more dangerous than previously thought (FOX5). Recent earthquake events have added even more tension and possibility for a large-scale tsunami. On March 10, 2014, a 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Northern California, which put a lot of stress on the Mendocino Triple Junction (Davidson). The Mendocino Triple Junction is where three tectonic plates collide, and is very unstable (Davidson). This junction has all this built up pressure and is about ready to explode. Scientists believe that this junction will be the origin of a tear along the 680-mile long Cascadia Subduction Zone. (Davidson). The disaster that follows will be considered the United State’s largest modern-day earthquake.
I think being prepared and educated will save many lives if and when we get the big one in the Cascadia region. Works Cited http://www.crew.org/cascadia http://www.crew.org/sites/default/files/cascadia_subduction_scenario_2013.pdf http://www.pnsn.org/outreach/earthquakesources/crustalfaults www.iris.edu/hq/files/programs/education_and_outreach/aotm/5/2.Subduction_Rebound_Background.pdf www.crew.org/sites/default/files
Earthquakes in California are certainly not a surprise. What is a surprise is their unpredictability and randomness. Geologists say there is roughly a 50 percent chance that a magnitude 8 or more quake will hit the Los Angeles area sometime over the next 30 years. And, over the past twenty years, the Los Angeles area has witnessed several earthquakes, and in particular, two that were quite devastating; the 1971 San Fernando earthquake, and the January 17, 1994, Northridge Earthquake. Given the certainty that earthquakes will occur, they still seem to come as a surprise, and leave many communities unprepared to deal with their aftermath.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “we learn geology the morning after the earthquake.” Fortunately for those living along the San Andreas Fault line in California, there are people behind the scenes, from geologists to city and emergency planners, who have no intention of waiting that long.
At 5:12 a.m. on April 18th, 1906, the California city of San Francisco was awoken by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. Chaos erupted with the earthquake leading to fire break outs throughout San Francisco (Cameron and Gordon. Pgs 69-73).The earthquake and the resulting fires caused destruction to majority of the city with buildings crumbling and igniting into flames. Many people died along with thousands and thousands of people being left homeless. This devastating earthquake left the city and United States in a financial crisis. Although the 1906 earthquake was one of the worst natural disasters in U.S. history, the city of San Francisco was able to overcome these substantial physical, social and economic impacts it had.
Since California had previously been mentioned, it is a great place to begin explaining the complex geological impacts starting with the San Andreas Fault. The San Andreas is what geologists know as a strike-slip fault, meaning that when two pl...
Before examining the Northridge event, understanding the naturally occurring hazard that is an earthquake will help to better understand exactly what happened and why it was such an important geological event. With four distinct layers, two layers, the crust and upper portion of the mantle, compose the skin that is the surface layer of the Earth. The crust is not a single, continuous piece. It is actually several different pieces, or plates, that come together to form the puzzle that comprises the surface of the Earth. These plates are in constant motion rubbing against one another. These areas, known as fault lines, where the plates rub up against one another have spots where one plate ”gets stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. When the plate has moved far enough, the edges unstick and is how most of the earthquakes around the world occur” (Wald, 2012). The energy stored from the friction of the two plate...
On the night of April 18, 1906, the whole town was woken by erratic shaking. Although the earthquake lasted under a measly minute, it caused significant damage. Many fires started all throughout the city; San Francisco burned in turmoil.
An earthquake occurs abruptly and causes severs damage to people, property, landscape and more. A great mega-thrust earthquake, known as the Great Tohoku Earthquake has shaken Japan at 5:46:24 UTC on March 11, 2011. It caused a severe disaster, including tsunami and nuclear radiation exposure.. This mega-quake located at the latitude 38.297 degree North and longitude of 142.372 degree East, near the east coast of Honshu, Japan (USGS, 2013). An earthquake and tsunami waves caused widespread damage to many areas of Japan. People in Japan are still recovering from the damages.
In conclusion the world that we live in has many interesting things. From different types of faults to different types of fault zones. Each with their own interesting facts and information about them. What is know about the San Andreas and what it does for the earth either good or bad might not that extensive but what we do know is that nature will find a way to make something happen on the earth so that it will better benefit it in some way. So that by having this giant crease looking thing stretching almost the entire length of the state of California it some how benefits us.
It was a beautiful day like any other with the clear blue sky and the
Earthquakes belong to the class of most disastrous natural hazards. They result in unexpected and tremendous earth movements. These movements results from dissemination of an enormous amount of intense energy in form of seismic waves which are detected by use of seismograms. The impact of earthquakes leaves behind several landmarks including: destruction of property, extensive disruption of services like sewer and water lines, loss of life, and causes instability in both economic and social components of the affected nation (Webcache 2).
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