http://www.iknowthat.com/ScienceIllustrations/earthquake/science_desk.swf


www.iknowthat.com

How do earthquakes happen?

Earthquakes are caused when rock underground suddenly breaks along a fault. This sudden release of energy causes seismic waves that make the ground shake. When two plates are rubbing against each other, they stick a little. They don't slide smoothly making the rocks catch on each other. The rocks are still pushing against each other, but not moving. After a while, the rocks break because of all the pressure that's built up. When the rocks break, the earthquake occurs. During the earthquake and afterward, the plates start moving and continue to move until they get stuck again.

Earthquakes!!!!

The place where the plates hit each other under the ground is called the focus. The place on the land directly above the focus is called the epicentre. It is at the epicentre that the earthquake is the strongest. And if you move away from the epicentre, the earthquake will become lighter.An earthquake may not last for very long, but it can do lot of damage. In the Japanese city of Kobe, the earthquake of 1995 lasted for just twenty seconds, but it killed more than 5000 people.

credits for this image go to www.eoearth.org

Introduction

Hello, my name is Elsa. Ive created this blog as part of my transition year program for enviromental studies. The blog i have created is all about earthquakes. I chose earthquakes for my blog as i learned about them for junior certificate geography and found them really interesting.
Hope you enjoy it and find it helpful. :-D