Earthquakes- a sudden and violent shaking of the ground, sometimes causing great destruction, as a result of movements within the earth's crust or volcanic action.
Elastic Rebound- The elastic rebound theory is an explanation for how energy is spread during earthquakes. As rocks on opposite sides of a fault are subjected to force and shift, they accumulate energy and slowly deform until their internal strength is exceeded.
Focus- point on the surface of Earth directly above the epicenter. plate where pressure from beneath the surface can break through and causing shaking in an earthquake.
Epicenter- the point on the earth's surface vertically above the focus of an earthquake.
Seismology- the branch of science concerned with earthquakes and related phenomena.
Seismograph- an instrument that measures and records details of earthquakes, such as force and duration.
Magnitude- The magnitude is defined as the logarithm of the ratio of the amplitude of waves measured by a seismograph to an arbitrary small amplitude. An earthquake that measures 5.0 on the Richter scale has a shaking amplitude 10 times larger than one that measures 4.0, and corresponds to a 31.6 times larger release of energy.
Intensity- the measurable amount of a property, such as force, brightness, or a magnetic field.
Tsumani- a long high sea wave caused by an earthquake, submarine landslide, or other disturbance.
Seismic Gap- A seismic gap is a segment of an active fault known to produce significant earthquakes, that has not slipped in an unusually long time when compared with other segments along the same structure