Earthquakes     Seismograph

     Earthquakes can be caused by two faults that meet or crash together. They are also caused by volcanic activity. The lava flow underneath the Earth's crust pushes up the ground, and pushes the lava out, causing mild, maybe even disastrous, earthquakes. Earthquakes cause disasters such as floods, fires, snow avalanches, rockslides and landslides. Earthquakes can be very fatal disasters. Earthquakes occasionally destroy many buildings, highways and bridges and kill many people. The average amount of people that have died in earthquakes is 10,000 people. When an earthquake reaches a magnitude of 7.0 or greater, it is very disastrous.
      Since 1975, there have been approximately 300 earthquakes with a magnitude of about 7.0. Everything within twenty-two miles of the core can feel the earthquake. The largest earthquake in the 1900's was recorded at 9.7 in Southern Chile in 1960. The damage to buildings and highways due to earthquakes averages well over ten billion dollars each year. Sometimes the disasters that are caused by earthquakes are worse than the earthquake itself. In the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, more than five hundred blocks were burned within the next three days. Earthquakes are continuously rocking the earth. If an earthquake's magnitude is less than 4.5, it is hardly felt.
      Sometimes humans cause mild earthquakes. Dynamite, bombs, and atomic explosions can cause mild earthquakes. When there is an earthquake, you should have a portable first-aid kit. The first- aid kit should contain: antibiotic bandages, a radio, flashlights, and emergency food.


Click on each continent to learn about earthquakes in the area.


Africa

Antarctica
Antarctica

Asia
Asia

Australia
Australia

Europe
Europe

North America
North America

South America
South America


For more information about Restless Earth's Earthquakes
visit these World Wide Web sites (to get back to this site,
use the Back button on your browser):

http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/ - National Earthquake Information Center
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/current_maps.shtml - National Earthquake
Information Center, Current World Maps
http://wwwneic.cr.usgs.gov/neis/bulletin/bulletin.html - Earthquake Bulletin (near-real-time)
http://pubs.usgs.gov/gip/earthq1 - United States Geological Survey: Earthquakes

 


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