Earthquake Vocabulary

A device that records ground movements caused by seismic waves as they move through Earth

The shaking that results from the movement of rock beneath Earth's surface

A type of seismic wave that compresses and expands the ground

The block of rock that forms the upper half of a fault

A type of seismic wave that forms when P waves and S waves reach Earth's surface

The block of rock that forms the lower half of a fault

The record of an earthquake's seismic waves produced by a seismograph

A type of fault in which rocks on either side move past each other sideways with little motion

Stress that squeezes rock until it folds or breaks

The point beneath Earth's surface where rock breaks under stress and causes an earthquake

An downward fold in rock formed by compression of Earth's crust

The point on Earth's surface directly above an earthquake's focus

A type of seismic wave that moves the ground up and down or side to side

A scale that rates earthquake's according to their intensity and how much damage they can cause

The measurement of an earthquake's strength based on seismic waves and movement along faults

An upward fold of rock formed by

A large wave produced by an earthquake on the ocean floor

A building mounted on bearings designed to absorb the energy of an earthquake

A type of fault where the hanging wall slides upward; caused by compression in the crust

A force that acts on a rock to change its shape or volume.

Violent movement that suddenly turns loose soil into liquid mud

A scale that rates earthquakes by estimating the total energy released by an earthquake

A scale that rates an earthquakes magnitude based on the size of its seismic waves

The force that opposes the motion of one surface as it moves across another surface

A type of fault where the hanging wall slides downward; caused by tension in the crust

Stress that pushes masses of rock in opposite directions, in a sideways movement

Stress that stretches rock so that it becomes thinner in the middle

An earthquake that occurs after a larger earthquake in the same area

A large area of flatland elevated high above sea level