| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Focus | The point beneath Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and causes an earthquake |
| Epicenter | The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquakes focus |
| Seismic Waves | A vibrationt that travels through earth carrying the energy released duringa n earthquake |
| P waves | A type of seismic wave that compresses and expands the ground |
| S waves | A type of seismic wave that moves the ground up and down or side to side |
| Surface Waves | A type of seismic wave that forms when P waves and S waves reach the Earth's surface |
| seismograph | a device that records ground movements caused by earthquakes as they move though earth |
| Magnitude | The measurement of an Earthquake's strength based on seismic waves and movement along faults |
| Mercalli Scale | A scale that rates earthquakes according to their intensity and how much damage they cause |
| Richter Scale | A scale that rates earthquakes measured by a mechanical seismograph |
| Moment Magnitude Scale | A scale that rates earthquakes by estimating the total energy released by an earthquake |
| Liquefaction | The process by which an earthquake's violent movement suddenly turns loose soil into liquid mud |
| Aftershock | An earthquake that occurs after a larger earthquake in the same area |
| Tsunamis | A giant wave caused by an earthquake on the ocean floor |
| Base- Isolated Building | A building mounted on bearings designed to absorb the energy of an earthquake |
| Earthquake | The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath the earth's surface |
| Stress | A force that acts on rock to change its shape or volume |
| Shearing | Stress that pushes a mass of rock in opposite directions |
| Tension | Stress that stretches rock so that it becomes thinner in the middle |
| Compression | Stress that squeezes rock until it folds or breaks |
| Deformation | A change in the volume or shape of the earth's crust |
| Fault | A break or crack in the earth's lithosphere along which rocks move |
| Strike- Slip Fault | A type of fault where rocks on either side move past eachother sideways with little up or down motion |
| Normal Fault | A type of fault where the hanging wall slides downward; caused by tension in the crust |
| Hanging Wall | The block of rock that forms the upper half of the fault |
| Footwall | The block of rock that forms the lower half of the fault |
| Reverse Fault | A type of fault where the haning wall slides upward; caused by compression in the crust |
| Fault- Block Mountain | A mountain that forms where a normal fault uplifts a block of rock |
| Folds | A bend in rock that forms where part of the earth's crust is comporessed |
| Anticline | An upward fold in rock formed by compression of earth's crust |
| Syncline | A downward fold in rock formed by compression in earth's crust |
| Plateau | A landform that has a more or less level surface and is elevated high above sea level |
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