Earthquake Terms and Concepts

Aftershocks, Foreshocks & Mainshocks

Aftershocks are earthquakes that follow the largest shock of an earthquake sequence. They are smaller than the
mainshock and within 1-2 fault lengths distance from the mainshock fault. Aftershocks can continue over a period of
weeks, months, or years. In general, the larger the mainshock, the larger and more numerous the aftershocks, and the
longer they will continue. Foreshocks are relatively smaller earthquakes that precede the largest earthquake in a series,
which is termed the mainshock. Not all mainshocks have foreshocks.
Amplification
Shaking at a site may be increased, or amplified, by focusing of seismic energy caused by the materials in basins or by
surface topography such as mountains.
Attenuation
When you throw a pebble in a pond, it makes waves on the surface that move out from the place where the pebble
entered the water. The waves are largest where they are formed and gradually get smaller as they move away. This
decrease in size, or amplitude, of the waves is called attenuation. Seismic waves also become attenuated as they move
away from the earthquake source.
Blind Thrust Fault
A thrust fault that does not rupture all the way up to the surface so there is no evidence of it on the ground. It is buried
under the uppermost layers of rock in the crust.
Directivity
Directivity is an effect of a fault rupturing whereby earthquake ground motion in the direction of rupture propagation is
more severe than that in other directions from the earthquake source.
Divergent
A divergent boundary is where two adjacent tectonic plates are moving away from each other.
Elastic Rebound
Elastic rebound is what happens to the crustal material on either side of a fault during an earthquake. The idea is that a
fault is stuck until the strain accumulated in the rock on either side of the fault has overcome the friction making it stick.
The rock becomes distorted, or bent, but holds its position until the earthquake occurs, and the rock snaps back into an
unstrained position, releasing energy that produces seismic waves.
Horst and Graben
A horst is an upthrown block lying between two steep-angled fault blocks. A graben is a down-dropped block of the
earth's crust resulting from extension, or pulling, of the crust.
Liquefaction
Liquefaction is a process by which water-saturated sediment temporarily loses strength and acts like a fluid... like when
you wiggle your toes in the wet sand near the water at the beach. This effect can be caused by earthquake shaking.
Normal Fault
Normal, or Dip-slip, faults are inclined fractures where the blocks have mostly shifted vertically. If the rock mass above
an inclined fault moves down, the fault is termed normal, whereas if the rock above the fault moves up, the fault is
termed a Reverse fault.
Shadow Zone
The shadow zone is the area of the earth from angular distances of 104 to 140 degrees that, for a given earthquake,
that does not receive any direct P waves. The shadow zone results from S waves (not shown in animation) being
stopped entirely by the liquid core and P waves being bent (refracted) by the liquid core.
Strike-Slip Fault
Strike-slip faults are vertical (or nearly vertical) fractures where the blocks have mostly moved horizontally. If the block
opposite an observer looking across the fault moves to the right, the slip style is termed right-lateral; if the block moves
to the left, the motion is termed left-lateral.
Thrust Fault
A thrust fault is a reverse fault with a dip of 45° or less, a very low angle. This animation shows a reverse fault which is a
steeper-angle fault, but it moves the same way.
Wave Front
The wavefront is the instantaneous boundary between the seismic waves in the earth material, and the material that
the seismic energy has not yet reached. As a seismic wave propagates through the earth, the wavefront moves.