A Crack in the Edge of the World Book Report
Note that this is a Microsoft Word file. It would be very easy to submit your report
electronically by e-mail (nelson_eby@uml.edu). I would encourage you to do this.
1. Who is the author of the book? What are the author’s academic credentials?
What other books have been written by this author?
2. What was the date and time of the Great San Francisco earthquake?
3. What does the author mean by the “Old Geology” and the “New Geology”?
4. Identify the following individuals. What is their significance in terms of geology
and earthquakes?
J. Tuzo Wilson
Eldridge Moores
Grove Karl Gilbert
Charles Richter
5. What major geologic events occurred in 1906?
6. From a geologic perspective, what is the significance of the ancient meeting place
of the Iceland parliament (Althing)?
7. What is “Rodinia”?
8. According to the author, what caused the earthquakes that occurred in
Charleston and the New Madrid zone, both of which are in the center of a
tectonic plate? The author provides two separate explanations.
9. What happened at Winslow, Arizona?
10. Who led the four Great Western Surveys, what was their purpose, and what was
their contribution to geology?
11. What are “ophiolites” and what role did they play in explaining the geology of
the western United States?
12. What is the significance of Parkfield, California?
13. What is a “triple junction”?
14. During the early days of San Francisco, what was the major recurring disaster
and why?
15. Who were the “celestials”?
16. Where was the epicenter of the great San Francisco earthquake? What was the
area over which the earthquake was felt?
17. What caused most of the damage in San Francisco and how did the locals deal
try to mitigate this cause?
18. Comment on the statement “insurance companies behaved impeccably after the
San Francisco earthquake”.
19. The trans-Alaskan pipeline crosses the Denali fault. What steps have engineers
taken to minimize the chance of rupture during an earthquake?
20. What is the possible relationship between the Denali earthquake of November 3,
2002, and Yellowstone National Park?