EARTHQUAKE IN UNITED STATES

Earthquake in United States



Abstract

When we talk about the earthquakes, we talk about the energy release from the earth's surface and the fractures that appear. Earthquakes are a natural phenomenon that happens all through the year around the world, with 100s of earthquakes going unnoticed as they are below a range of 4.0 on the scale. Amazingly the bigger ones are also fewer in numbers; however they cause more damage and loss to the countries. There is no confirmed cieling to the value to which the earthquake can go, and the highest recorded value on the scale was a little before 9.

The earthquake is generally referred to the shaking of the earth. America is one of the countries which have a great number of earthquakes happening every year. Scientist believe that out of 50 states in America 39 are existing on the planes with high seismic activity. There is also a fault line that runs from the middle of the country. The impact of an earthquake may result in various issues like lost of lives of the people, properties and public valuables. There is no way that can help us avoid an earthquake from happening literally! These earthquakes occur when there is friction between the earth's plate and this friction cause the energy that is trapped inside the earth's surface is release.

Earthquake in United States

Introduction

The result of an impulsive discharge of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves is commonly known as “Earthquake”. It is also known as tremor or temblor. The activity that is seismic in a region relates to the size, type and frequency of the earthquakes experience that comes from a given time period. Seismometers are the instruments that are used to measure earthquake. The most common scale is the moment magnitude on which earthquakes that are larger than 5 generally are monitored throughout the globe. Earthquakes of the magnitude 5 are the smaller earthquakes in large numbers recorded by the observatories of national seismologi and are generally recorded on the magnitude scale available locally. Considering the range for the validity, the scales are quite similar. The earthquakes below or equal than magnitude 3 are almost unnoticeable, and magnitude 7 or above, depending upon their depth, may result in damages and casualties of a large area. There is no high / max value to the possible magnitude. The largest earthquake in history have been recorded is of magnitude slightly over 9. (USGS, 2006)

At the surface of the earth, earthquakes have patent theirselves by dislocation and occasionally trembling of the ground. Earthquakes are generally caused by the split of geological errors, and also at certain times through the other actions such as landslides, volcanic movement, nuclear tests and mine blasts. The moment of initial openning of an earthquake is known as its hypocenter or focus. And the point directly above the hypocenter is called epicenter. Tsunami are caused, when the seabed is displaced due to the large earthquake which is located ...