Grade 8 - Geography

Earthquakes

What is an Earthquake?

Earthquakes are experienced in the areas of crustal instability. They remind us about the
restlessness of the crust caused by tectonic forces.

An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of the Earth, resulting from the sudden release of energy
in the Earth’s lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in size from those that
are so weak that they cannot be felt to those violent enough to toss people around and destroy
whole cities. The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of
earthquakes experienced over a period of time.

In its most general sense, the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event — whether
natural or caused by humans — that generates seismic waves, P (Primary) and S (Secondary) and
surface waves.
Terms associated with Earthquake:

• The point where the earthquake originates (below the crust) is called the focus of an
earthquake or hypocentre.

• The point on the surface of the earth which is directly vertically above the focus is called
epicentre. It is the first place to experience the waves and it is most destructive.

Causes of Earthquakes
The main causes of earthquakes fall into five categories:

1. Volcanic Eruptions

The main cause of earthquake is volcanic eruptions. Such type of earthquakes occurs in areas, with
frequent volcanic activities. When boiling lava tries to break through the surface of the earth, with
the increased pressure of gases, certain movements are caused in earth’s crust.

2. Tectonic Movements

The crust consists of seven major and several minor lithospheric plates. These plates are always
moving, thus affecting earth’s crust. These movements are categorized into three types:
constructive, destructive and conservative.

• Constructive is when two plates move away from each other, they correspond to
mild earthquakes. They are also called as Divergent Plate boundaries.

• When two plates move towards each other and collide, this is known as destructive plate
boundaries. They are also called as Convergent Plate boundaries.

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 o Usually, one of the converging plates will move beneath the other, a process known
as subduction. Deep trenches are features often formed where tectonic plates are
being subducted and earthquakes are common. The denser oceanic crust moves
beneath the continental crust. As the sinking plate moves deeper into the mantle,
fluids are released from the rock causing the overlying mantle to partially melt. The
new magma (molten rock) rises and may erupt violently to form volcanoes, often
building arcs of islands along the convergent boundary.

• Conservative plates are those where plates slide past each other in opposite directions. They
are also called as Transform Fault boundaries.

3. Folding and Faulting:

Folding and faulting occur due to the internal horizontal and vertical movements in the earth’s crust
causing a great deal of displacements of rocks. These movements disturb the crustal rocks and cause
imbalance in the crust resulting in severe earthquakes

4. Man Made

The interference of man with nature can also become a cause of the earthquake. The disturbance
of crustal balance due to heavy clubbing of water in dams can cause earthquakes. Nuclear
bombing can send specific type of shockwaves throughout the surface of the earth, which can
disturb the natural alignment of tectonic plates. Mining can also cause disturbance due to the
extensive removal of rocks from different areas.

5. Minor Causes

Some minor causes such as landslides, avalanches, the collapse of heavy rocks, etc. can also cause
minor shockwaves. The gases beneath the surface of earth contract and expand, giving rise to
movements in plates beneath the crust. The plutonic earthquake occurs because of adjustments in
rock beds in the interior of earth’s crust. All these factors, correspond to minor earthquakes but
sometimes these can also vary to moderate earthquakes.

Effects of earthquake
The following are the immediate hazardous effects of Earthquake:

• Shaking of ground Disparity in ground settlement

• Natural disasters like Tsunami, land slide, mud slides and avalanches
• Soil liquefaction
• Ground lurching and displacement
• Floods and fires
• Infrastructure collapse.
• Communication network fails
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Measurement
All earthquakes are different in their intensity and magnitude.
The instrument for measurement of the vibrations is known as Seismograph.

Magnitude scale

• Richter scale is used to measure the Magnitude of the earthquake

• The energy released during a quake is expressed in absolute numbers of

0-10.

Intensity scale

• The Mercalli scale is used to measure the intensity of an earthquake

• It measures the visible damage caused due to the quake.
• It is expressed in the range of 1-12.

Now why do people settle down in these dangerous areas since eternity? The reasons are:

✓ Many of the Earth's natural resources of energy, minerals, and soil are concentrated near
past or present plate boundaries. The utilization of these readily available resources has
sustained human civilizations, both in the past and in the present.
✓ Natural resources
✓ Fertile soils
✓ Ore deposits
✓ Fossil fuels
✓ Geothermal energy
✓ A formidable challenge

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Case Study: Nepal Earthquake

On April 25, 2015, Nepal and its people experienced a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. On May 12,
another major earthquake of 7.2 magnitude hit the country. In practice, his means that millions of
Nepalese have lived and died under the weight of falling buildings, landslides, floods, hunger, and
homelessness brought about by massive seismic shifts across the Himalayan belt. Most will refer to
this as an earthquake, singular. But this is no singular disaster. The country has experienced more
than 300 seismic events since April 25, 2015, and nearly 9000 people died as a direct result of the
two most major earthquakes.

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