Earthquakes, faulting and folding

• Earthquakes


  Sudden shaking of the ground caused by movement of tectonic plates
• Earthquakes


  • Formed or can be found at the types of plate boundaries
  • Focus is the point below the earth's surface where most movement takes place and most energy is released
  • May be very close to the surface or as much as several hundred km deep
  • Epicentre is the point at the surface that lies directly above the focus
• Earthquake


  Fractures the rock along a line called a fault
• Types of faults


  • Normal fault (rocks are pulled apart as the earth's crust is stretched)
  • Reverse fault (rocks are pushed together as the earth's crust is compressed)
  • Transform fault (masses of rock are pushed past each other, the crust is torn but not stretched or compressed)
• In a normal fault, rocks are pulled apart as the earth's crust is stretched
• In a reverse fault, rocks are pushed together as the earth's crust is compressed
• In a transform fault, the masses of rock are pushed past each other, the crust is torn but not stretched or compressed
• Seismic focus is the main feature of an earthquake
• Types of faulting are normal fault, reverse fault, and transform fault