Earthquake

Is a natural phenomena that is

characterized by a sudden, violent
shifting of massive plates
underneath Earth’s surface.
Anatomy of Earthquake
 Fault
• is the crack across which the rocks have been offset first.

Fault trace

Fault plane

Normal Fault
 Classifications of Faults

Classified according to their angle of

dip and their relative displacement
Reverse Fault
Sumatra Fault , Indonesia
San Andreas
Fault ,California
 Classification of Seismic Waves

Surface Waves Body waves

Compressional Shear or
or Primary (P) Secondary (S)
 Surface Waves Body waves
Love Waves(P) Shear or
Secondary (S)
Types of Earthquakes
1.Tectonic Earthquake

Happens when the shifting of earth’s plates are

driven by the sudden release of energy within some
limited region of the rocks of earth

It is anchored on the Elastic Rebound Theory

by the American geologist, Harry Feilding Reid.
Asperities- roughness or harness along the
fault

Fault barriers – a place where the rupture stops

or slows.
2.Volcanic Earthquake
Caused by the injection or withdrawal of magma in response to the
change in pressure in the rock where the magma has experienced
stress.

Two types of Volcanic Earthquake

• Volcanic tectonic earthquake- • Long-period volcanic

occurs after a volcanic activity earthquake-after volcanic
has taken place. eruption.
3. Collapse earthquake

are small earthquake located underground and in mines

that are caused by the disintegration of the roof of the
min or cavern or by massive land sliding
4. Explosion Earthquake

Results from the detonation of chemicals or

nuclear devices.

Fukushima Daiichi Plant,

Japan March 2011
Seismology
Robert Mallet-
observing the effects of
earthquakes and by
measuring the velocity
of elastic waves
generated by explosion
Locating an earthquake is
usually done by the time p
and s waves at a group of 3 or
4 more seismograph stations.
Magnitude
Measures the energy released at the source of
earthquake.

Intensity
Measures the strength of shaking produced by
the earthquake in a certain location.
Mercalli and Richter
Scale
To assign magnitude to earthquakes.
Mercalli scale –it uses the observation of
people who experience the earthquake

Giuseppe Mercalli
Richter Scale- used the distance between the earthquake and
the seismograph and the amplitude of the largest recorded
seismic wave.

Charles Francis Richter

Moment Magnitude Scale

Thomas C. Hanks and Hiroo Kanamori, 1979

The total energy content of the seismic waves are

determined by computer analysis and corrected the
distance between the earthquake and seismograph.
Activity
Location of Earthquakes
Occur most frequently on narrow zones that are connected to
form a continuous network bounding regions that are
seismically less active such as rift valleys, oceanic ridges,
mountain belts, volcanic chains and deep ocean trenches
Causes and Effects of Earthquakes
Tsunami
Three things that will allow a seaquake to
generate tsunami

1. Atleast a magnitude of 7 on Richter scale

2. Seabed must be lifted or lowed by the
quake.

3. The epicenter must be near to the

Earth’s surface.
Orogeny- refers to the forces and events that
lead to large structural deformation of Earth’s
lithosphere.

Oro Genesis

Orogens Geomorphology
Mountain Ranges
 Mountain Ranges

- Is a succession of many closed spaced mountains

covering a particular portion of Earth.

- Several mountain ranges that run roughly parallel to

each other are collectively termed as mountain belts.
Himalayas- Highest Mountain Ranges in the
World
Andes- Longest Mountain Range in the
World
Appalachians- Oldest Mountain Range in
North America
The Alps- Largest Mountain System in
Europe
Rocky Mountains- Major Mountain Range in
western North America
The Great Dividing Range- A Mountain
Range that Forms a Watershed
End…..