preview

The Exploring Of Earth : The Earthquakes Of The Earth

Decent Essays

Why do Earthquakes occur?
An earthquake is the violent shaking of the ground which is caused by sudden movement in the Earth’s crust. Earthquakes occur because the tension gets released from inside the crust of the earth. Tectonic plates move alongside and past each other but they do not always move smoothly and when they get stuck it causes an earthquake because the pressure builds up then the pressure is finally released (see source 1). This movement from the plates forces waves of energy to come to the surface of the Earth. Plates can also converge into each other, this is when two plates collide and one goes beneath one and creates an earthquake.
How does it occur?
Source 1 Pressure building up under tectonic plates An earthquake occurs when tectonic plates slide against, under, over or past each other. Tectonic plates are plates that are broken up like a jigsaw that are located in the outer layer of the Earth (see source 2). All of the water and land on the Earth sit on tectonic plates. The Earth is made up of eight major plates, Australia is located on the Indo-Australian Plate. These plates are constantly moving beneath us but the movement is too slow for us to notice and feel. The energy from earthquakes are released in seismic waves which spread out from the focus in the crust. The focus is the point that the pressure is released from and the surface on Earth that is the focus is called the epicentre (see source 3).
During an earthquake, the most damage will

Get Access