March 22, 2007
White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW Washington, DC 20500
Edison School
5806 Main Avenue
Bow, WA 98232
Dear Mr. President
Thank you for letting me be part of this survey. We, in my seventh grade
class, read your proposition for the USGS, and I accepted (even though I was in
the middle of my trip). Earthquakes are a big part of the United States, and had
to be researched by someone, who better than me, at the USGS (United States
Geological Survey).
There are many earthquakes happening lately. Most of them have been
happening around plate boundaries (tectonic plates). Earthquakes are more
likely to occur around plate boundaries. This is so because the plates are always
moving and colliding, this causes friction, compression or shearing/ thrust, which
causes earthquakes. There are fifteen plates throughout the world. This makes
a lot of places that can have earthquakes.
Since we know that earthquakes happen along the boundaries, we can,
most of the time, determine where earthquakes will happen. Since we know, of
guessed where the convergent, divergent and transform boundaries are, this will
help us predict which parts of the world the earthquakes will be on. Since
earthquakes have everything to do with plate boundaries, lets focus on the
boundaries. There is also seismometers. These machines keep a running
database of the earth’s movement. It might not help you predict, but it will help
make an average of where the most earthquakes. Then, that information will
help you determine where earthquakes might happen.
Earthquakes and volcanoes have a lot in common. They both have a lot
to do with plate boundaries. Sometimes earthquakes can cause volcanoes.
Earthquakes make cracks in the ground, and if they make any on an oceanic
plate, it can cause magma to come out. The lava and ash can build up and
make a volcano. Then the lava/magma from the crack that the earthquake
caused, can come out from a “disturbance “ in the ground. By disturbance, I
mean earthquake. Based on this information, I would say that earthquakes and
volcanoes have a relationship.
Like I said before, earthquakes are caused by plate tectonics. The plates
on the earth are shifting very slowly each day. When they shift, some collide
(convergent), some are moving away from each other (divergent) and some are
sliding past each other (transform). The ones that collide are causing the land to
fold on top of each other and causes earthquakes. The ones that slide past each
other, they sometimes get caught on each other and cause a thrust, which
makes earthquakes. The ones that are moving away from each other are
making a shaking of the ground by causing friction-like forces. Plate tectonics
are causing earthquakes, everyday.
Thank you again for taking the time for everything. I am happy to be able
to inform you about everything. If you have any other questions or propositions,
contact me, or Mrs. Donna Cole.
Sincerely,
Kathryn S, Student at Edison Elementary