Earthquakes & Volcanoes Flashcard Vocabulary

Question 1

Ring of fire

Answer 1

The Ring of Fire is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.

Question 2

Strike slip fault

Answer 2

a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another.

Question 3

normal fault

Answer 3

a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has moved downward relative to the block below.

Question 4

reverse fault

Answer 4

is the opposite of a normal fault—the hanging wall moves up relative to the footwall.

Question 5

P-waves

Answer 5

A P wave, or compressional wave, is a seismic body wave that shakes the ground back and forth in the same direction and the opposite direction as the direction the wave is moving.

Question 6

S-waves

Answer 6

are a type of elastic wave and are one of the two main types of elastic body waves, so named because they move through the body of an object, unlike surface waves.

Question 7

epicenter

Answer 7

the central point of something, typically a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Question 8

focus

Answer 8

The focus is the place inside Earth’s crust where an earthquake originates.

Question 9

Richter magnitude scale

Answer 9

The Richter magnitude scale, also known as the local magnitude (M) scale, assigns a number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a base-10 logarithmic scale.

Question 10

explosive volcano

Answer 10

an explosive eruption is a volcanic eruption of the most violent type.

Question 11

nonexplosive volcano

Answer 11

The low viscosity also means that shield eruptions are non-explosive.

Question 12

Krakatoa

Answer 12

Krakatoa is a small volcanic island in Indonesia, located about 100 miles west of Jakarta. In August 1883, the eruption of the main island of Krakatoa (or Krakatau) killed more than 36,000 people, making it one of the most devastating volcanic eruptions in human history.

Question 13

Yellowstone super-volcano

Answer 13

The Yellowstone Caldera is a volcanic caldera and supervolcano in Yellowstone National Park in the Western United States, sometimes referred to as the Yellowstone Supervolcano.

Question 14

San Andrea’s fault

Answer 14

The San Andrea’s Fault is a continental transform fault that extends roughly 1,200 kilometers through California.

Question 15

Mid Oceanic ridge

Answer 15

A mid-ocean ridge is a seafloor mountain system formed by plate tectonics.

Question 16

shield volcano

Answer 16

A shield volcano is a type of volcano usually composed almost entirely of fluid lava flows. It is named for its low profile, resembling a warrior’s shield lying on the ground.

Question 17

cinder cone volcano

Answer 17

Cinder cones are the simplest type of volcano. They are built from particles and blobs of congealed lava ejected from a single vent

Question 18

composite volcano

Answer 18

also called stratovolcanoes, are cone-shaped volcanoes built from many layers of lava, pumice, ash, and tephra. Because they are built of layers of viscous material, rather than fluid lava, composite volcanoes tend to form tall peaks rather than rounded cones.

Question 19

hot spot

Answer 19

the places known as hotspots or hot spots are volcanic regions thought to be fed by underlying mantle that is anomalously hot compared with the surrounding mantle

Question 20

Mt.Vesuvius

Answer 20

Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe, and has produced some of the continent’s largest volcanic eruptions.