Earthquakes
Sydney, MN | Earthquakes
Nayeli, California has more earthquakes than Florida because California lies on a fault, or a place between two of the huge plates that make up the earth's surface. When these plates collide or rub together, an earthquake occours, and Florida does not lie on a Fault.
kel, VA | Earthquakes
I like your show
chels, | Earthquakes
can Earthquakes last for 1 hole day
nayeli, FL | Earthquakes
why does california have more earth quakes than florida
kayla, AK | Earthquakes
earthquakes are really scary
Don, CA | Earthquakes
The main reason we have more quakes in the west is that this is where the plate boundary is. It is known as the San Andreas fault and it is the boundary between the North American Plate and the Pacific Plate.
In relation to one another the North American Plate is moving southeast and Pacific Plate is moving northwest. They are sliding past one another and there are many places along this boundary where the two plates stick and it is at these locations where the plates stick that we have quakes.
Some places the plates are stuck so tight together that this causes movement further away from the boundary. These quakes occur on smaller faults, which have been caused by the movement of the two plates.
Faults can be found almost anywhere however the further away from the plate boundary the less earthquakes there will be. Don
Greg, FL | Earthquakes
I grew up in Calif. and lived through a couple 7 quakes and few 6 . They threw me against the wall and bounced me all around. I managed to look out a window during a 7 quake. I saw waves moving along the ground like if you had snapped a rope or a hose at one end. Whenever a wave hit a fire plug or a gas main...BOOM! Up it went. CalTech has a lot of good links on quakes and loads of data.
Michaela, KY | Earthquakes
Why do more earth quakes occur in the West rather than in the East??
chris, | Earthquakes
what seismic activity and plate movement would occur in new jersey
Don, CA | Earthquakes
Hi Randall. That is an excellent question, but unfortunately it doesn't have a easy answer. The quakes appear to be occurring in a subduction zone. This is where one plate is sliding under another plate. The clue to this is the depth of the quakes. As a rule subduction quakes occur as one single quake, but quakes are famous for not following the rules. My theory, which by the way isn't shared by all is that this is a subduction quake but instead of being one large quake it is many small quakes. Lets say that the one large quake if it were to occur would be a magnitude 7.0, but it is occurring as quakes of magnitude 3.0. It would take more then 1.4 trillion (1,466,408,618,241) magnitude 3.0 quakes occurring one right after the other to equal the same amount of energy released by one magnitude 7.0 quake. Of course if we throw in a 5.0 magnitude quake that would take care of 1,089 magnitude 3.0 quakes and a magnitude 6.0 quake would take care of 1,185,921 magnitude 3.0 quakes. Of course there is no way of proving this until years from now when all of the magnitude 3.0 quakes have occurred, or there is one very large quake. It is sort of like watching fingernails grow. You sit around waiting for something to occur or not occur to prove your theory and even then the proof may not be good enough to prove your theory.
Don, CA | Earthquakes
Hi Steph. Earthquakes occur on the San Andreas fault everyday, but most of them are to small to be felt. There are a couple of areas along the fault where we almost have no quakes at all. This is the Carrizo Plain which is the segment of the fault that lays between Parkfield and Wrighwood. Another area is the segment between San Francisco and Eureka. From USGS Historic Quakes: In 1857 there was a quake that occurred in the area of Cholame, California that is thought to have been more then a 8.0M. This earthquake occurred on the San Andreas fault, which ruptured from near Parkfield (in the Cholame Valley) almost to Wrightwood (a distance of about 300 kilometers); horizontal displacement of as much as 9 meters was observed on the Carrizo Plain. Strong shaking lasted from 1 to 3 minutes. Instances of seiching, fissuring, sandblows and hydrologic changes were reported from Sacramento to the Colorado River delta. Ground fissures were observed in the beds of the Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Santa Clara Rivers and at Santa Barbara. Sandblows occurred at Santa Barbara and in the flood plain of the Santa Clara River. One report describes sunken trees, possibly associated with liquefaction, in the area between Stockton and Sacramento. Changes in the flow of streams or springs were observed in the areas of San Diego, Santa Barbara, Isabella, and at the south end of San Joaquin Valley. The waters of the Kern, Lake, Los Angeles, and Mokulumme Rivers overflowed their banks. Changes in the flow of water in wells were reported from the Santa Clara Valley in northern California.
Don, CA | Earthquakes
I was posting here a couple years ago as your expert on earthquakes. I stopped posting as research into far field triggering took just about every bit of time I had. I'm retired now, but still do some research. My goal is to get at least one person interested in geology/seismology in the hopes that they one day might solve the problem of predicting the next major quake. Thank you.
sydney, MN | Earthquakes
megan, there may be very minute earthquakes here in minnesota right now, but because we are not located on top of a fault line (a place where tow or more of the earth's plates meet), there is porbably very little to no activity in our home state as far as earthquakes go.
mendy, TX | Earthquakes
why does he earhquake shakes?
alexa, FL | Earthquakes
i love earth quakes.
randall, IN | Earthquakes
why has there been so much recent low intensity earthquake activity in the region around puerto rico?
Veer, TX | Earthquakes
Why do earthquakes exist?
Haley, PA | Earthquakes
can you find a place where many earthquakes occur without volcanoes? is there a place where many volcanoes exist without earthquakes??
nikky, CA | Earthquakes
Why are some places get more earthquakes more than others?
steph, | Earthquakes
how often do earthquakes occur along the san andreas fault line?
murryn, NC | Earthquakes
there was a 20 second earthquake in san fransico californa. it was a 8.1 or a 7.9 earthquake. it caused a lot of damage.
stevie, CA | Earthquakes
hey bobby, I think i have an answer for your question when two tectonic plates collide it makes the earth shake and that can do real damage!
Don, CA | Earthquakes
Hi Rosalinda. As a rule earthquakes won because a volcano to be born unless conditions exist for a volcano to be born. When those conditions are there then it is more likely the volcano caused the quake. In the area of Lake Pillsbury in Northern California a volcano is being born now. At its current growth rate it will take 400,000 years to reach the surface. We know this by the number of quakes that have been occurring in the area and the gases that have been detected at the surface as well as a temperature increase at the surface. A person walking on the surface in the area will not notice the temperature increase, but instruments designed to detect a temperature increase will. Another place where a volcano is being born is in the area of Three Sisters Volcano in Oregon. It is known as the %u201CThe Three Sisters Bulge%u201D. Gases known to exist with volcanoes has been detected at the surface and in some of the springs in the area. These gases are hydrogen sulfide, carbon dioxide and helium 3. Helium 3 is an isotope not found normally at the earth%u2019s surface unless fresh magma is rising towards the surface. The bulge along with the helium 3 is a very good indication that fresh magma is moving towards the surface. In 2003 a swarm of more then 1600 quakes occurred in the Lake Tahoe area. What was unusual about this swarm is that they occurred about 19 miles below the surface. It was also discovered that Slide Mountain rose almost 8 millimeters. This is a pretty good indication that fresh magma has been injected into the lower crust of the earth. Earthquakes caused by the movement of magma are called "Clong period quakes" or "Charmonic tremors" and do not look the same on a seismograph as a tectonic quake. In essence it will be the volcano causing the earthquakes not the earthquakes causing the volcano.
Rosalinda, CA | Earthquakes
Is it possible that an earthquake can creat avolcano and how is the prosses
Bobby, IL | Earthquakes
1 of the earthquakes in Tang Shan is the strongest earthquake in the world.
mario, NH | Earthquakes
I once saw a really bad earthquake on tv.I saw a building fall to the ground.There was also a huge fire.
