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terms and definitions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Epicenter | Point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus. |
| Fault | facture that occurs when rocks break and that results in relative movement of opposing sides; can form as a result of compression.(being pulled apart) |
| Focus | Point deep inside Earth where energy is released, causing an earthquake. |
| Lava | Molten rock flowingn onto Earth's surface. |
| Lithosphere | Rigid layer of Earth about 100km thick, made up of the crust and a part of the upper mantle. |
| Magnitude | A measure of the energy released by an earthquake. |
| Rifts | Long crack, fissure, or trough that forms between tectonic plates moving apart at plate boundaries. |
| Seismic Safe | Describes the ability of the stuctures to stand up against the vibrations caused by an earthquake. |
| Surface Waves | A vibration set off by a sudden movement along a fault in Earth's surface and spread across the occean in a series of long waves. |
| Seismograph | Instument used to record seismic waves. |
| Tsunami | Powerful seismic sea wave that bagins over an ocean floor earthquake, can reach 30m in height when approaching land, and can cause destruction in coastal areas. |
| Volcanoes | Cone-shaped hill or mountain formed when hot magma,solids,and gas erupts onto Earth's surface through a vent. |
| Pyroclastic Flow | Another hazard for inhabitants of montserrat. They can occur anytime on any side of the volcano. |
| Richter Scale | Is based on measurments of amplitudes, or heights, of seismic waves as recorded on seismographs. |
| San Andreas | Fault that makes California an area of high risk for earthquakes. |
| Seismograph | An instrument used to detect and record earthquakes. |
| Subduction | The process of an oceanic plate colliding with and descending underneath a continental plate. |
| Epicenter | The area of the earth's surface that is derectly above the origi of an earthquake. |
| Mexico | This country's capital city was devastated by an earthquake in 1985. |