Earthquake Research Paper

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Earthquakes
What are earthquakes? An earthquake is what happens when two pieces of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter, or focus.
Sometimes, not always, an earthquake has foreshocks. These are smaller earthquakes that happen before the largest earthquake, or mainshock, in the same place. Scientists can’t tell that an earthquake is a foreshock until the mainshock happens. Mainshocks always have aftershocks that follow. These are smaller earthquakes that occur afterwards in the same place as the mainshock. Depending on the size of the mainshock, aftershocks can continue for weeks, months, and even years after the mainshock. The larger the mainshock, the larger the aftershocks will be.
What causes earthquakes and where do they happen?
The earth has four major layers: the inner core, outer core, mantle, and crust. The crust and the top of the mantle make up a thin skin on the surface of our planet. This skin isn’t all in one piece. It is made up of several pieces covering the surface of the earth, like a puzzle. These puzzle pieces keep slowly moving around, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. We call these puzzle pieces tectonic plates. The edges of tectonic plates are called plate boundaries. Plate boundaries are made up of many faults, and most of the earthquakes around the world occur on these faults. The edges of the plates are rough and get stuck while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Eventually the plate edges of a fault unstick and results in an earthquake.

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...or higher, the stronger and potentially more dangerous an earthquake is. Along with magnitude, intensity is observed as well. Intensity is the measure of force often acquainted with the shaking from the earthquake. Intensity varies on where you are located during the earthquake.
Unexpected Consequences of Earthquakes
Earthquakes commonly have consequences that are unexpected by an environment they occur in. The consequences may be tsunamis, buildings collapsing, structures distorting, landslides, and liquefaction.
Tsunamis

Works Cited
Harris, Tom, and Patrick J. Kiger. "How Earthquakes Work." HowStuffWorks. HowStuffWorks, Inc., 16 Jan. 2001. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .
"The Science of Earthquakes." USGS. 24 July 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. .

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