Exploring Earthquakes
By Melanie
Brady, Elly
Glenn, and
Carleigh
Wellenreiter
How many original “supercontinents”
where there?
 There was only one, it
is Pangaea
 Pangaea was a huge
landmass containing all
of our continents we
know today
 225 million years ago
the continents all fit
together like a puzzle,
and have moved apart.
There are twelve major unconnected
landmasses. What are the ones that
affect the USA
 The answer is the North
American Plate, Juan
De Fuca plate, and the
Pacific plate. If you
count Puerto Rico as
the USA then the
Caribbean plate is also
involved.
Why does California have so many
earthquakes but Florida doesn't?
 The reason why
California has more
earthquakes than
Florida is because
California lies on the
junction plate of the
Pacific plate and the
North American plates.
Why does California have so many
earthquakes but Florida doesn't?
(continued)
 When they move past
each other, it causes
earthquakes. Florida is
in the middle of the
North American plate,
that is why it doesn't
move as much as
California.
What hazard zone is Illinois in?
 Illinois is mostly in the
hazard zone of 2-4
 part of Illinois is in the
4-8 hazard zone
What is considered the most
destructive earthquake in history
 In Shaanxi, China in
1556
 830,000 killed
 Magnitude was 8.0
What are the three basic plate
boundaries ?
 The three basic types of
plate boundaries.
 The first is the convergent
plate boundary, these ones
move toward each other and
collide at some point
 The second boundary is a
divergent boundary, these
boundaries move away from
each other.
 The last is a transform
boundary, these boundaries
move past each other
What is a tsunami? How fast can they
travel?
 A tsunami is an
underwater eruption or
earth quake.
 They can travel up to
500 miles per hour
 The word tsunami
comes from Japan, it
means harbor wave.
What are the two types of energy
waves created by an earthquake? How
do they differ?
 The first wave is called a Primary wave
 The second wave is the Secondary wave
 The Primary waves travel through solids,
liquids, and gases.
 The Secondary wave can only travel through
solids

A primary wave works like this slinky
Which of those two waves is quicker
 The Secondary waves are slower therefore
the Primary waves are quicker
How much more energy is released by
a 7.2 earthquake than a 6.2 earthquake
 It releases 10 times more ground power but
releases 32 times more energy
What applications does seismology
have besides measuring the magnitude
and location of earthquakes
 By combining
seismograms from
many earthquakes
recorded all over the
world, an image of the
interior at the earth can
be created
Where did most of the earthquakes
happen last week?
 They where located in
Chile, Haiti, and
California
Can scientist predict earthquake?
 Scientists can predict where
major earthquakes are likely
to occur, however, based on
the movement of the plates
in the Earth and the location
of fault zones.
 They also can make general
guesses about when
earthquakes might occur in a
certain area, by looking at
the history of earthquakes in
the region and detecting
where pressure is building
along fault lines.
How do scientists know where
earthquakes actually occur?
 Using a ratio based on
Primary and Secondary
waves scientists can
calculate the distance
between any point on
the earths surface. They
do this by using
seismographs.
Video of an earthquake