Earthquake

• Earthquake - a sudden vibration of the earth's surface due to the rapid release of stored energy between tectonic plates
• Hypocenter - the point within the earth along the geological faults where the earthquake originates
• Seismic Waves - starts to radiate from the hypocenter and subsequently from along the fault rapture
• Shallow-Focus Earthquake - when the hypocenter is located near the surface from 0 to 70 km
• Deep-Focus Earthquake - if it is intermidiate or located approximately 7-700 km
• Epicenter - the point of the earth's surface directly above focus
• Fault - is a crack across which the rocks have been affected
• 4 parts of a fault:

  1. Fault Plane
  2. Fault Trace
  3. Hanging Wall
  4. The Footwall
• Fault Plane - area where this fault occurs, this surface area may be sloping
• Fault Trace - intersection of a geological fault with the earth's surface that leaves a disturbance on the surface, usually a crack
• Hanging Wall - refers to the block of crust above the fault
• The Footwall - The outer wall of a fault plane, where the rock is pushed upwards.