Natural Disasters Vocabulary Quiz

Study Notes

Earthquakes are caused by slippage along a break in the lithosphere, called a fault.
The San Andreas Fault is a strike-slip or transform fault.
The point within Earth where an earthquake starts is called the focus.
Energy released during an earthquake travels in seismic waves, specifically P waves and S waves.
P waves are the fastest type of wave and the first to be detected.
Earthquakes that sometimes come before a major earthquake are called foreshocks.
The epicenter is the point on the Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake starts.
Surface waves are seismic waves produced by an earthquake that travel on the surface of Earth and are usually larger and more destructive than body waves.
Hazards of earthquakes include tsunami, seismic shaking, liquefaction, landslides, and mudslides.

Large broad volcanoes with runny lava are classified as shield volcanoes.
Magma travels from the chamber to the crater in a long tube called the vent.
The most common volcano located within the Ring of Fire is the composite cone or stratovolcano.
Volcanoes that occur away from plate boundaries are called hotspots.
Hazards of volcanic eruptions include volcanic lava flows, volcanic ash, tsunami, pyroclastic flow, and toxic gases.
Low viscosity magma creates volcanoes with broad gentle slopes, while high viscosity magma produces more explosive eruptions.
Volcanoes can form underwater.

Determining the risk for an area, building earthquake-resistant structures, keeping an emergency supply kit and family plan, and following earthquake safety procedures can reduce earthquake damage and loss of life.
Building bridges and buildings that can adapt to seismic shaking can also help reduce damage produced by earthquakes.