How does an earthquake really impact the earth? I have had the opportunity to learn about the way an earthquake impacts the earth and the details that make up an earthquake in the past 4 weeks. An earthquake is a sudden movement of the earth's crust caused by the release of stress accumulated along geologic faults or by volcanic activity. In an earthquake stress gradually builds up with the shift of plates. In an earthquake there are three different kinds of waves: P-waves, S-waves, and L-waves. The "P" in P-waves stands for primary. Primary waves are the first to arrive in an earthquake. The "S" in S-waves stands for Secondary. These waves arrive second, hints the name. And the last waves to arrive are the L-waves. .
There are three different kinds of boundaries in earthquakes: Transform fault, Subduction boundary, and Divergent boundary. The most well know transform fault is that of the San Andreas Fault. A transform fault is complicated by different types of movement. Subduction boundaries are boundaries where one plate slides under another. The subduction boundaries are usually were the strongest earthquakes occur. The Divergent boundaries are where two plate move away from each other. This boundary forms rifts or ridges.
Major earthquake zones are located in many parts of the earth. The Ring of Fire is located around the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States of America and it is a subduction type fault. The Mid-Atlantic ridge is a divergent type fault and is located under water near Iceland. There are also many underwater earthquakes and volcanoes that happen here. Eurasian Mountain Belt is located in Europe and Asia and is a convergent type fault. .
We had to opportunity to watch a video on the different places that earthquakes have hit including California and Japan. One of the earthquakes that I enjoyed hearing about was the one in San Francisco California in 1974. This earthquake had a magnitude of 7.