Earthquake Epicenters

REVIEW: EARTHQUAKE
Earthquakes occur when
rocks in the lithosphere
rupture or move in order
to release accumulated
energy and stress.

A strong earthquake can

generate a large amount
of energy in the form of
 EARTHQUAKE SIMULATION

1. Make a model of the crust and

the structures above it.
2. Put the containers close together
and move them in opposite
directions. Observe how what
happened to the structures.
3. Repeat step 2 with the containers
closer together.
EARTHQUAKES
● Earthquakes occur when rocks in the lithosphere rupture
or move in order to release accumulated energy and stress.

● Faults are breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks move or slide

past one another. There should be an apparent
displacement for a break or a fracture for it to be
considered as a fault.
PARTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE
● The surface where the slip
occurs is called a fault
plane.

● The location below Earth’s

surface where the
earthquake originate is
called a hypocenter.
Parts of an earthquake
PARTS OF AN EARTHQUAKE
● The surface directly above
the hypocenter is the
epicenter.

● Most of the time, it is the

area where the greatest
damage takes place during
earthquakes.
Parts of an earthquake
MEASURES IN DESCRIBING THE STRENGTH OF AN
EARTHQUAKE
Intensity
● It is the measure of the degree of shaking experienced in an
area.
Magnitude
● It is a quantitative measurement that relies on the data
from seismic records along with other techniques to
estimate the amount of the energy released.
FAULTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
● Located in the eastern part
of the country are the East
Luzon Trough and Philippine
Trench.

● The western region has the

Manila Trench, Negros
Trench, Sulu Trench, and
Cotabato Trench.
Active faults in the
Philippines
FAULTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
• The Philippine Fault or
Philippine Fault Zone (PFZ),
is a 1 200-km fault zone
cutting almost the whole
archipelago.

Active faults in the

Philippines
FAULTS IN THE PHILIPPINES
● Aside from the Philippine Fault Zone, there are also other
active faults in the country, namely the following:
● Valley Fault System or Marikina ● Legazpi Lineament,
Valley Fault,
● Macolod Corridor, ● Tablas Lineament,
● Lubang-Verde Passage Fault ● Mindanao Fault and,
System,
● Mindoro or Aglubang Fault, ● Offshore Cebu-Bohol Faults
● Sibuyan Sea Fault,
SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN THE
PHILIPPINES
● Historical accounts of
earthquakes only started
during the Spanish colonization
in the late 15th century.

● The instrumentally-derived
parameters for earthquakes
started in 1892 onwards.
Seismicity of the Philippines
from 1990 to 2006
SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN
THE PHILIPPINES
● The distribution of
strong earthquakes in
the Philippines is
shown in the figure.

Distribution of large earthquakes in the Philippines

SEISMIC ACTIVITY IN
THE PHILIPPINES
• Casiguran Aurora,
Ragay Gulf, Mindanao,
Panay, and Nueva, Ecija
are areas in the
Philippines where the
strongest earthquakes
occurred with
magnitude > 7.0.
Distribution of large earthquakes in the Philippines
● An earthquake is the shaking of Earth’ surface resulted from
the sudden release of energy due to the movement of
tectonic plates.

● The point in Earth’s surface where the earthquake originate is

called a hypocenter. It is also commonly known as focus.

● Directly above the hypocenter located at the surface is the

epicenter.
WRITE TRUE IF THE STATEMENT IS CORRECT.
OTHERWISE, WRITE FALSE.
1. The hypocenter is located at the top of the epicenter.
2. The instrumentally-derived parameters for earthquakes
started in 1892.
3. The hypocenter and epicenter are the same.
4. The most destructive earthquake—having a magnitude of 7.9—
occurred in Luzon.
5. The Intensity of an earthquake is observed through
seismological instruments.