You wake in the darkness, unsure about what has disturbed you. Strangely the clock on your bedside table begins to rattle about, as if it has a will of its own. You become aware of a strange roaring sound outside, like a jet passing overhead. The rattling grows and strengthens. Suddenly, the earth moves, bucking like a wild animal. Your room heaves; glasses crash in the kitchen; paintings fall from the walls.
What is it? What could make the normally stable earth move like this? Throughout human history the
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When the two plates finally slip, they release a great amount of energy in the form of shock waves. Earthquakes are caused when plates move, rub, or push against each other. Since the plates are floating on magma, they can slowly move. The earth's crust ( the outer layer of the earth ) is made up of 7 major plates and about 13 smaller ones. re have been many attempts to explain earthquakes, from a disturbance created by growling demons who live beneath the earth to the movements of the giant tortoise who carries the world on his back.
The place where friction occurs between plates is called a fault. Magma has currents like the ocean does, that move in a circular motion beneath the plates. The plates are about 30 miles thick under land and can be 1 to 5 miles thick beneath the ocean.
The plates move because of convection currents. A fault is a crack in a plate or a place where two or more meet. The plates float on molten lava, called magma. When two plates are pushing against each other, they are building up tension on the fault. 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.
Approximate Word count =
342
Approximate Pages =
1 (250 words per page double spaced)
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