This document provides an overview of earthquakes, including what causes them, where tectonic plates are located, major faults in California, significant historical earthquakes worldwide, and issues and concerns regarding earthquakes. It discusses that earthquakes occur along fault lines due to the release of stress in the Earth's crust. Major plates include the North American, Pacific, Eurasian and others. Significant historical quakes included the 1964 Alaska quake, 1960 Chile quake, and 2004 Sumatra quake. Concerns addressed are economic impacts, induced quakes from fracking, lack of building codes, and environmental effects. Solutions proposed include retrofitting structures, education, and preparedness.

1. Geography 110-70 Fall 2015
Presented by: Lucinda Crespin, Angie
Johnson, George Siglar and Lindsay Skaggs
Earthquakes

2. Earthquake – What is it?
A sudden movement of the Earth's crust. Earthquakes are
caused by the release of built-up stress within rocks along
geologic faults (tectonic plates) or by the movement of
magma in volcanic areas. They are usually followed by
aftershocks.

3. Where Are Tectonic Plates Located?
Earth’s Major Plates
• African Plate
• Antarctic Plate
• Eurasian Plate
• Indo-Australian Plate
• North American Plate
• Pacific Plate
• South American Plate
U.S. Geological Survey – Sept. 2011

4. Earthquakes by Region Greater than 7.5 Magnitude
7.8
7.9
8.2
8.3
8.6
9
8.8
8.1
7.9
8.5
8.3
8.6
9.1
Nepal Alaska Chile Sea of
Okhotsk,
Russia
Sumatra,
Indonesia
Japan Chile Samoa
Islands
China Indonesia Kuril
Islands
Indonesia Samatra,
Indonesia
2015 2014 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004
Significant Earthquakes by Year and Region 2004-2015
Data Source: USGS – Earthquake Archives. 2004 - 2015

5. Where Are Earthquakes Happening? Worldwide
Global Tectonic Activity Map - NASA

6. Major Faults in California
• San Andreas
• Hayward-Rodgers Creek
• San Jacinto
• Elsinore
• Calaveras
• Garlock
• Imperial

7. Southern California – San Andreas Fault
• Approximately two-thirds of the
movement of the Pacific plate
movement is accounted for by the
San Andreas fault and other
smaller parallel faults in the San
Jacinto, Lake Elsinore, and Imperial
areas.
• Due to the “big bend” of the San
Andreas fault, which reaches from
the San Joaquin Valley to the
eastern part of the San Bernardino
mountains, the Pacific and North
American Plates push into each
other, resulting in compressing the
Earth’s crust and causing hundreds
of additional faults.

8. Earthquakes in California History 1857-1994
Data Source: USGS – Earthquake Archives. 1857-1994
7.9
7.4
7.8 7.8
6.8
7.3
6.3 6.3
7.1
7.3 7.3
6.7
Fort Tejon Owens Valley Imperial
Valley
San Francisco San
Jacinto/Hemet
Eureka Santa Barbara Long Beach Imperial
Valley
Kern County Landers Northridge
1857 1872 1892 1906 1918 1922 1925 1933 1940 1952 1992 1994
Major California Earthquakes

9. Southern California – Significant Earthquakes
The most significant earthquake to date
in Southern California occurred on
January 09, 1857 in Fort Tejon, reaching
a magnitude of 7.9.
However, only two deaths were
reported in relation to the earthquake.

10. Southern California – Significant Earthquakes
(cont.)
• Northridge Earthquake –
January 17, 1994, 6.7 Magnitude
• Hector Mine Earthquake -
October 16, 1999, 7.1 Magnitude
• Northern Baja Earthquake -
April 4, 2010, 7.2 Magnitude

11. Significant Earthquakes – United States
• Largest recorded earthquake in U.S.
history is the Great Alaska
Earthquake of 1964.
• Occurred on March 27, 1964,
reaching a 9.3 magnitude.
• Also known as Good Friday
Earthquake.
• Second most powerful earthquake
recorded in world history.
• Resulted in 139 deaths.

12. Significant Earthquakes – Around the World
• The largest (and most powerful)
known earthquake occurred on
May 22, 1960 in Valdivia, Chile.
• Also known as the Great
Chilean Earthquake, reaching a
9.5 magnitude.
• Estimated 2,231 to 5,700 killed
by the earthquake, and
estimated damages of $400 to
$800 million ($3.19 to $6.38
billion by today’s standards).

13. Most Dangerous Area – World Wide
• Sumatra, an island in the
western region of Indonesia
has been hit overall by some
of the most powerful
earthquakes ever, with four
of occurrences within the
world’s Top 15 recorded.
• Third Most Powerful Ever –
9.1 Magnitude, Occurred on
December 26, 2004.
• Most Recent – April 11,
2012, 8.6 Magnitude.

14. • Loss of life and property
• Health threats - injury or illness
• Damages environment (ecosystems)
• Destroys landscape (Liquefaction and landslides)
• Alters Earth’s rotation speed and shape of the planet.
• Causes fires, floods, and power outages
• Impacts economy
• Other hazards include water movement in lakes,
reservoirs and oceans that lead to tsunamis.
How Does Earthquakes Affect Life on Earth?

15. Issues and Concerns with Earthquakes
Earthquakes have a profound
impact on the economy.
Recovery from a large scale
earthquake is long and costly.
They result in billions of Federal
dollars being spent to provide
relief to impacted areas.
It also affects importing and
exporting goods to and from the
regions.
Economic Impact
The affected regions accounted for 12.4% of
Japan’s GDP.

16. Issues and Concerns with Earthquakes
Most induced earthquakes
in the United States are a
result of the deep disposal
of fluids (wastewater)
related to oil and gas
production.
Fracking has the potential
risk of contaminating our
ground water.
Induced Earthquakes

17. Issues and Concerns with Earthquakes
International Building Codes
have been established since
2000, however they are not
mandatory to adopt.
Many buildings are old or
unsafe and require retrofitting
to withstand future
earthquakes.
Lack of Standardized
Building Codes
Haiti Earthquake 2010 Japan Earthquake 2011
Chile Earthquake 2014Northridge Earthquake 1994

18. Issues and Concerns with Earthquakes
NASA studies found that the
Indonesian earthquake
shortened the Earth’s size by
2.5 centimeters. They also
found the earthquake
decreased the length of day by
2.68 microseconds.
Earthquakes impact the earth
with land and mudslides due
to liquefaction.
Impact on Environment
Photo by: US Search and
Rescue Task Force
Bolivia 2011 Mudslide
Photo by: CNN

19. • Seismic retrofit homes and critical
infrastructures
• Use alternative methods for fracking
such as waste water purification
• Mandate adoption of International
and State Building Codes
Solutions for Earthquakes
Low Cost Solutions
• Personal preparedness
(Emergency Plan and Go-kit)
• Education, awareness and
training on earthquakes
• Secure heavy furniture and
appliances
Moderate Cost Solutions

20. Earthquake Education and Training
Awareness and Education
• www.ready.gov
• www.usgs.gov
• www.dhs.gov/citizen-corps
• www.caloes.ca.gov
• www.caltech.edu
Free Disaster Training
• www.fema.gov/community-
emergency-response-teams
• www.teex.org
• www.training.fema.gov/is/crslist.aspx
• www.redcross.org/ca/san-
bernardino/take-a-class

21. Summary of Earthquakes
In conclusion, Earthquakes are a natural disaster that will occur worldwide
and cause shaking, rolling, aftershocks and secondary disasters along the
tectonic plates. The best tools to increase your survival rate is being proactive
and develop a plan for you and your family. People who live near active
faults can increase their knowledge about earthquakes, build a go kit for 3-7
days to include non-perishable foods, water and first aid supplies, secure
heavy furniture, secure appliances and retrofit home if necessary.
Protecting our homes, critical infrastructures and environment can reduce the
costs of recovery. Public awareness, education and training are the key to
reduce and minimize loss of life, property and environment.

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Rubinstein, Justin L., and Alireza Babaie Mahani. "Myths and Facts on Wastewater Injection, Hydraulic Fracturing, Enhanced Oil Recovery, and Induced
Seismicity." (n.d.): n. pag. United States Geological Survey. U.S. Department of Interior. Web.
<https://profile.usgs.gov/myscience/upload_folder/ci2015Jun1012005755600Induced_EQs_Review.pdf>.
CITATIONS