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Earthquakes
August 23, 2010
Unit 4 Project: Earthquakes
Everyday in certain regions of the world, seismic activity is recorded by seismographs ranging from small rumbles to fierce shaking from earthquakes. Earthquakes are caused by the sudden release of energy within the Earth’s crust. The crust is made up of pieces called tectonic plates with rough edges called plate boundaries. The plate boundaries contain many faults which is where most of the World’s earthquakes occur. The rough edges of the tectonic plates often get stuck while sliding across each other which builds up something called seismic energy (USGS, 2010). This energy is released after sudden movement and releases seismic waves. These waves cause the shaking and rumbling which are felt during an earthquake. Earthquakes are studied and measured by various organizations across the world. One of these organizations is the United States Geological Survey (USGS). The USGS has a website which provides helpful information concerning areas of risk for seismic activity, records all seismic activity around the world, and all geological information concerning earthquakes.
In the United States, there is a major fault line along the west coast. This fault line is called the Andreas Fault and is one of the most active faults in the world. In Georgia, there is a varying risk from two percent to ten percent of probability of exceedance in the next fifty years. There are not many occurrences of seismic activity in this area. From the early 1800’s to the 1960’s there are some recorded events of seismic activity but none large enough to cause significant damage. However, if forced to relocate to an area with significant seismic activity such as California, the USGS website would offer preparedness in the event of an earthquake in many ways. Living in California would not be desired by someone who would like to avoid areas with significant seismic activity. California has experienced many earthquakes...