Earthquakes Essay Samples

Faults are breaks in the earths’ crust that can run and extend in kilometers both on the surface and downwards into the earth. For example, the North Anatolian Fault. When there is movement along the fracture, there is slippage and rupture resulting in earthquakes. The larger the rupture of the fault segment, the larger the quake will be. The focus is the origin of the quake. It is the point of origin for the waves and is below the earths’ surface. The types of foci are categorized into shallow foci at 10-100km, intermediate foci at 70-300 km and deep foci at greater than 300km. Earthquakes resulting from shallow foci create the most damage. The epicenter is a point that is directly above the focus and is on the earths’ surface. For this reason, the point of energy release for earthquakes is called a focus, it is located along a fault line and the epicenter is the earth’s surface point that lies directly above the focus.
I am not in full agreement with the notion that faults without active creeps are safe because the earths’ movements are unpredictable. However, it is expected that faults with an active creep are more likely to experience any activity as compared to these without an active creep. Although not visible, energy and pressure may be building beneath the earths’ surface and can be released turning inactive faults into active ones. In addition, the occurrence of other events such as volcanic activities and earthquakes in adjoining regions may trigger movements and slippage in an inactive fault. There is also the possibility of elastic rebounds occurring even when the fault is inactive. The absence of active creeps does not entirely eliminate the possibility of the occurrence of an earthquake.