Foundations of Earth Science - Earthquakes and Mountain Building

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to earthquakes and mountain building from the lecture notes.

Earthquake

Ground shaking caused by the rapid movement of one block of rock slipping past another along a fault.

Hypocenter (focus)

The location beneath the Earth's surface where slippage begins during an earthquake.

Epicenter

The location on Earth's surface directly above the hypocenter, usually where the strongest shaking is felt.

Seismic waves

Energy released during an earthquake that travels through the ground and causes vibrations.

Elastic rebound

The process by which deformed rock springs back to its original shape after stress is released.

Tectonic motion

Movement of the Earth's plates that builds up stress along faults, leading to earthquakes.

Convergent plate boundaries

Areas where tectonic plates push against each other, often resulting in earthquakes.

Transform plate boundaries

Regions where tectonic plates slide past each other, generating earthquakes.

Megathrust fault

A type of fault associated with subduction zones that generates the most powerful earthquakes.

Circum-Pacific belt

A major earthquake zone also known as the 'Ring of Fire' due to its high volcanic activity.

Intraplate earthquakes

Earthquakes that occur away from plate boundaries, usually less common and less intense.

Richter scale

A scale used to measure the magnitude of an earthquake based on seismic wave amplitude.

Moment magnitude scale

A more modern and accurate scale for measuring the energy released by earthquakes.

Seismic vibrations

Shaking produced by seismic waves that can lead to structural damage during an earthquake.

Landslide

The downward movement of rock and soil due to stress or shaking from an earthquake.

Tsunami

A series of ocean waves caused by the displacement of water due to underwater seismic activity.