The Earthquake Machine

Science Article Summary

The Earthquake Machine

Author -UNKNOWN

Earthquakes! What do you think about when you hear that word? Questions pop into your head, the main one is "Why earthquakes happen"? It all started out on April 18, 1906, there was an earthquake called The Great San Francisco Earthquake. On that faithful day both sides of the Great San Andreas Fault permanently shifted. Shocked by the drastic movement, scientist began to study the ground. The fence that was across the San Andreas Fault moved and people who had land did not know where their boundaries were. Surveyors came to look at the sight and the made an astonishing discovery. Much of the Northern part of California had been moved during the earthquake. Much to their amazement no one still knew what caused earthquakes. A scientist named R.H. Reid proposed a hypothesis that would help you today. He proposed that strain built up in the earth's crust like the stretching of a rubber band. At that point it would snap but Reid did not know what cause the stain to build up. Scientist began searching and discovered that the earth's tectonic plates are in constant motion. Two plates get stuck together where they meet (FAULTS) but forces deep within the earth drag and pull down the plates in different directions. Stuck together for so many years the stain gets too much, which then an earthquake can occur.

After reading about earthquakes I had one scientific term that I did not get. That term was "Tectonic Plates", all I really know about Tectonic Plates is that they are underground. I needed more insight on it, so I looked it up. I learned that "Plate tectonics is a theory of geology developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions within the Earth's crust." This better my understanding about Plate Tectonics.

New York Times.ProQuesst