Earthquake/volcano Flashcards
ring of fire
a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
Strike-slip fault
a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another.
Normal fault
a type of dip-slip fault where the hanging wall moves downwards from the footwall.
Reverse fault
the block above the fault moves up relative to the block below the fault.
P-waves
a seismic wave that causes particles of rock to move in a back-and-forth direction
S-waves
a seismic wave that causes particles of rock to move in a side-to-side direction
epicenter
the point on the Earth’s surface directly above an earthquake’s staring point, or focus
focus
the point along a fault at which the first motion of an earthquake occurs.
Richter magnitude scale
a measure of the strength of earthquakes
explosive volcano
an explosive eruption is a volcanic eruption of the most violent type.
nonexplosive volcano
the most common type of volcanic eruptions.
Krakatoa
is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung.
Yellowstone supervolcano
is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States.
San Andreas fault
the transform boundary between two major plates of the Earth’s crust: the Northern Pacific to the south and west and the North American to the north and east.
Mid-oceanic ridge
a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics.
