A Discussion On Earthquakes

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Term Paper Title	A Discussion On Earthquakes
# of Words	1148
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	4.59

A Discussion On Earthquakes

A Discussion On Earthquakes

     Perhaps Mother Nature offers no greater force than that of the earthquake.
Across the span of time, earthquakes have been recorded for their incredible
destructive forces, and their abilities to awe mankind with their unparalleled
force.  Earthquakes can often strike without any notice, leveling large cities
and killing scores of innocent people.  Not only can earthquakes bring harm to
society through these methods of destruction, but they can also cause millions
of dollars worth of damage to the areas they destroy, causing economic chaos.
An earthquake is a natural phenomenon, occurring throughout the history of the
world.  Descriptions as old as recorded history show the significant effects
earthquakes have had on people's lives.  Long before there were scientific
theories for the cause of earthquakes, people around the world created folklore
to explain them.  Until recent times, science has not had a complete
understanding of how earthquakes are caused, and what can be done to predict
when they will strike.  This essay will discuss how earthquakes are formed and
occur, how scientists can more accurately predict the arrival of earthquakes.
     Before contemplating how earthquakes might possibly be prevented, it is
essential that the process and formation of and earthquake be understood.
Earthquakes are caused when the earth's crustal plates move, rub, or push
against each other.  The earth's crust (the outer layer of the earth) is made up
of seven major plates and approximately thirteen smaller ones.  The name plate
is used to describe these portions of the earth's crust because they are
literally “plates” or sections, composed of dirt and rock.  These plates float
on molten lava, called magma.  Since the plates are floating on magma, they can
slowly move.  The place where friction occurs between plates is called a fault.
A fault is a crack in a plate or a place where two or more plates meet.  An
example of a fault where two plates meet is the San Andrea's fault in California,
where the Pacific and North  American plates  meet.  The plates are about 30
miles thick  under  land  and  can be one to five miles thick beneath the ocean.
The plates move because of convection currents.  Magma has currents like the
ocean does, that move in a circular motion beneath the plates.  When two plates
are pushing against each other, they are constantly building up tension on the
fault.  When two plates finally...

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