Essay on The Epicenter of an Earthquake - 970 Words

Earthquakes can devastate a city. They are a force of nature that can destroy any structure. The earth is made up of moving tectonic plates. Earthquakes occur along or near tectonic plate boundaries where two plates meet. These plates are solid rock and sit on the mantle which is a layer of molten rock. This molten rock is constantly moving in a convection current. The earth’s core is what generates the heat. The hotter rock rises away from the core and pushes up against the crust. Here it cools and then moves away on both sides. The now cooled rock sinks back to take the place of the hotter rock that has risen as shown in the diagram on the right. When the rock pushes against the crust it moves sideways. This moves the tectonic plates†¦show more content†¦As shown in the diagram on the right, the fault runs straight through San Francisco and right along the coast. When the two plates slide along they create huge quakes that shake the ground. There have been many eart hquakes generated from this fault line but the worst one was in 1906. At 5:12 am on the 18th of April 1906 in San Francisco the foreshock hit the slumbering city. The force of the earthquake was so great that the tremors were felt right throughout the San Francisco and it reached as far inland as Nevada (500km away). Along the San Andreas fault the plate slipped up to 21 feet. 20 seconds after the initial foreshock the main earthquake hit, lasting for about 1 minute. Although it lasted for merely a minute it wrecked mass destruction. After the quake people walked the streets confused. Some people had no idea how much damage had been done. Some people walked to work as per usual only to find the buildings on a lean or fallen. Not only was there structural damage to the city but there was a significant loss of life. Many people were trapped under building and cries of help could be heard coming from the piles of rubble. Those that survived could not be taken to the hospitals as they had sustained major damage. The injured were taken to the dance hall. What no one realised that the worst was yet to come. The greatest tragedy had not yet unfolded. The earthquake had severed gas mains andShow MoreRelatedEarthquakes Are Natural Disasters That Can Have Devastating Consequences867 Words   |  4 PagesIt is no secret that earthquakes are natural disasters that can have devastating consequences. Earthquakes are defined as â€Å"vibration of Earth produced by the rapid release of energy† (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2014, p. 548). These vibrations are the result of seismic waves, which are emitted from the epicenter during an earthquake (Lutgens and Tarbuck, 2014, p. 191). 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