Earthquake Vocabulary Words with Definitions

An earthquake is a great shaking of earth’s surface. The quake is caused by the movement of the outer layer of the earth.

Although the Earth looks like a solid place from the surface, it is actually extremely active just below the surface.

Earthquake Vocabulary Words with Definitions

Following are common words related to earthquake along with their explanation:

• Active fault

an active fault is one that has moved once or more times in the past 10,000 years and therefore likely to move sometime in the future.

• Aftershocks

smaller earthquakes that occur after the main earthquake in the same place as the main shock.

• Amplitude

the size of the wiggles on an earthquake recording.

• Body waves

seismic vibrations that move through the Earth’s interior.

• Deformation

deformation is a change to the original shape of material and in earthquakes this is due to stress and strain.

• Displacement

displacement is a change in the initial reference point or later position.

• Earthquake

shaking or slipping movement of the earth, followed by seismic waves and vibrations.

• Epicenter

the point on the Earth’s surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake, i.e. directly above the true center of the seismic disturbance from which the shock waves of an earthquake seem to radiate.

• Fault plane

the planar / flat surface along which two blocks of the earth’s crust suddenly slip past one another during an earthquake

• Focus

the point inside the Earth where the rock breaks off and pressure is released, The focus generally occurs 45 miles below the ground.

• Hypocenter

the location below the Earth surface where an earthquake rupture begins.

• Magnitude

a number that categorizes the amount of energy released during an earthquake.

• Main shock

the largest, main earthquake.

• Richter scale

the magnitude of seismic energy released during an earthquake is measured by the Richter scale.

• Seismicity

the intensity, frequency, and distribution of earthquakes in a specific area.

• Seismograms

plot of time vs. intensity of motion, First waves to arrive at seismograph are P waves, 2nd are S waves, and 3rd are Surface waves. Arrival of waves relates to velocity with which they are transmitted through the earth’s crust.

• Seismology

the branch of geology that studies earthquakes and seismic waves that move through and around the earth as well as their effects.

• surface waves

seismic vibrations that move along the outer layer of the Earth’s surface.

Amplification

Earthquake levels may be increased, or amplified, by focusing on the seismic forces caused by the geometry of the sediment velocity structure.

Amplitude

The amplitude range of earthquake waves is good for most earthquakes

Arc

A series of volcanic arc sometimes occur on land when the ocean floor collides with a continental plate and slides beneath it.

Seismic Waves

Earthquakes carry energy from earthquakes

Compressional Stress

Pressure that squeezes something

Compressional Wave

The seismic body wave moves the earth forward and forward in the same direction and in the opposite direction as the wave goes in the opposite direction.

Core

The innermost part of the earth

Creep

Slow, continuous or minimal movement that occurs in error due to continuous tectonic transformation

Caldera

Severe stress formed when a volcano erupted and collapsed

Convection Current

A process that involves the movement of energy from one place to another

Crater

Vessel-induced stress produced by the impact of a meteorite, volcanic activity, or eruption

Crust

Covered by a solid outer shell of a rocky planet, a dwarf planet, or a natural satellite.

Fault

Fracture of the crust when the rock movement occurs

Fossils

Preserved fossils of plants and animals were buried in the ground, such as sand and mud, under the sea, in lakes and ancient rivers.

Inner Core

The fourth layer inside the Earth

Lithosphere

The outer part of the Earth with stones

Mantle

The coat is a layer inside the body of the planet bound below the spine and above the crust

Normal Fault

A curved fracture where the blocks usually move straight upwards

Outer Core

Liquid layer

Plate

A large, irregularly shaped rock, common in both continental and oceanic lithosphere.

Plate Tectonics

Scientific theory explaining how large earth species are created due to the movement of the underground earth.

Primary Waves

Pressure waves are naturally longitudinal.

Relative Dating

The science of determining the related sequence of past events

Reverse Fault

The opposite of a common mistake

Seafloor Spreading

The formation of the earth in which tectonic plates — the largest slabs of the Earth’s atmosphere — split apart

Secondary Waves

Make the rocks they pass change. These waves are the second most moving waves in the world

Seismograph

A device used by scientists to measure the magnitude of an earthquake

Stress

The force that causes the rock to change shape

Strike-Slip Fault

Passing error, wrench error, or back error

Tsunami

A huge, fast-moving wave caused by earthquakes beneath the ocean floor

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