Earthquakes & Earth's Interior

These flashcards cover vocabulary related to earthquakes and their impacts, plate tectonics, seismic waves, and measurement scales.

Earthquake

A sudden and violent shaking of the ground, often due to tectonic movements.

Seismic Waves

Waves of energy that travel through the Earth's layers, produced by earthquakes.

Magnitude

A measure of the energy released during an earthquake, commonly measured on the Richter scale.

Hypocenter (Focus)

The point within the Earth where an earthquake originates.

Epicenter

The point on the Earth's surface directly above the hypocenter.

Plate Tectonics

The theory that explains the structure and motion of the Earth's plates, which results in earthquakes.

P-Waves (Primary Waves)

Seismic waves that compress and expand the ground, traveling through solids, liquids, and gases.

S-Waves (Secondary Waves)

Seismic waves that move the ground up and down or side to side, and can only travel through solids.

Rayleigh Waves

Surface waves that cause the ground to roll in wave-like motions.

Love Waves

Surface waves that move the ground laterally, shearing it from side to side.

Magnitude Scale

A numerical scale used to measure the energy released by an earthquake.

Mercalli Intensity Scale

A scale that measures the effects of an earthquake based on observed damage.

Intraplate Earthquakes

Earthquakes that occur within tectonic plates rather than at the edges.

Liquefaction

A phenomenon where saturated soil substantially loses strength and stiffness during an earthquake, behaving like a liquid.

Subduction Zone

An area where one tectonic plate moves under another, often causing powerful earthquakes.

Seismometer

A device that detects and records seismic waves.

Tsunami

A series of ocean waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, often due to underwater earthquakes.

Fault

A fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock, which can slide past each other.