Earthquakes Flashcards

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1
Q

ring of fire

A

a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes. The majority of Earth’s volcanoes and earthquakes take place along the Ring of Fire.

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2
Q

Strike-slip fault

A

vertical (or nearly vertical) fractures where the blocks have mostly moved horizontally. If the block opposite an observer looking across the fault moves to the right, the slip style is termed right-lateral; if the block moves to the left, the motion is termed left-lateral.

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3
Q

Normal fault

A

a type of dip-slip fault where the hanging wall moves downwards from the footwall. The average dipping angle of a normal fault ranges from 45 to 90 degrees. Normal faults are the opposite of reverse faults.

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4
Q

Reverse fault

A

the block above the fault moves up relative to the block below the fault. This fault motion is caused by compressional forces and results in shortening. A reverse fault is called a thrust fault if the dip of the fault plane is small.

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5
Q

P-waves

A

the first waves to arrive at a seismograph. P waves are the fastest seismic waves and can move through solid, liquid, or gas. They leave behind a trail of compressions and rarefactions on the medium they move through. P waves are also called pressure waves for this reason.

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6
Q

S-waves

A

a transverse earthquake wave that travels through the interior of the earth and is usually the second conspicuous wave to reach a seismograph.

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7
Q

epicenter

A

The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus or hypocenter of an earthquake

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8
Q

focus

A

The focus is the place inside Earth’s crust where an earthquake originates. The point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus is the epicenter. When energy is released at the focus, seismic waves travel outward from that point in all directions.

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9
Q

Richter magnitude scale

A

a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Francis Richter and presented in his landmark 1935 paper, where he called it the “magnitude scale”.

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10
Q

explosive volcano

A

In volcanology, an explosive eruption is a volcanic eruption of the most violent type. A notable example is the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.

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11
Q

nonexplosive volcano

A

Nonexplosive eruptions are the most common type of volcanic eruptions. These eruptions produce relatively calm flows of lava in huge amounts. B. Vast areas of the Earth’s surface, including much of the sea floor and the Northwestern United States, are covered with lava form nonexplosive eruptions.

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12
Q

Krakatoa

A

Krakatoa, also transcribed Krakatau, is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group comprising four islands.

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13
Q

Yellowstone supervolcano

A

The Yellowstone Caldera, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano, is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States. The caldera and most of the park are located in the northwest corner of Wyoming.

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14
Q

San Andreas fault

A

The San Andreas Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 1,200 kilometers through California. It forms the tectonic boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate, and its motion is right-lateral strike-slip

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15
Q

Mid-oceanic ridge

A

A mid-ocean ridge is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics. It typically has a depth of about 2,600 meters and rises about 2,000 meters above the deepest portion of an ocean basin. This feature is where seafloor spreading takes place along a divergent plate boundary.

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16
Q

shield volcano

A

a broad domed volcano with gently sloping sides, characteristic of the eruption of fluid, basaltic lava.

17
Q

cinder cone volcano

A

A cinder cone is a steep conical hill of loose pyroclastic fragments, such as volcanic clinkers, volcanic ash, or scoria that has been built around a volcanic vent. The pyroclastic fragments are formed by explosive eruptions or lava fountains from a single, typically cylindrical, vent.

18
Q

composite volcano

A

A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava and tephra.

19
Q

hot spot

A

A hot spot is an intensely hot area in the mantle below Earth’s crust. The heat that fuels the hot spot comes from very deep in the planet. This heat causes the mantle in that region to melt. The molten magma rises up and breaks through the crust to form a volcano.

20
Q

Mt. Vesuvius

A

Mount Vesuvius is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc.