The Violent Earth
Faults, seismology, and
the Bay Area
Faults, Earthquakes and Seismology
• Faults & earthquakes
• Magnitude of an earthquake
• Earthquake location
What is an earthquake?
Fault Stress builds Rocks “break”
along the fault
The energy released in the earth when the stress is
relieved along a fault is felt as an earthquake
To understand earthquakes,
we need to learn about
faults...
Fault
A fault is a fracture or crack in rocks -
weak zones along which rocks can move
The Basin & Range Province
Continental Rifts & Normal Faults
Normal faults produce
Basin & Range structure
FAULTS
_ Normal Fault
– Hanging wall moves downward, relative to the
footwall.
– Extensional forces.
_ Divergent plate boundaries.
Mid-ocean ridges &
Spreading centers
FAULTS
_ Normal Fault
– Hanging wall moves downward, relative to the
footwall.
– Extensional forces.
_ Divergent plate boundaries.
_ Reverse Fault
– Hanging wall moves upward, relative to the footwall.
– Compressional forces.
_ Convergent plate boundaries.
Low-angle reverse fault is
called a thrust fault
Blind thrust
Pacific plate North
American
plate
FAULTS
_ Normal Fault
– Hanging wall moves downward, relative to the footwall.
– Extensional forces.
_ Divergent plate boundaries.
_ Reverse Fault
– Hanging wall moves upward, relative to the footwall.
_ Compressional forces.
_ Convergent plate boundaries.
_ Strike-Slip Fault
– Two blocks slide laterally past one another.
– Shearing forces.
_ Transform plate boundaries.
Left- vs. right-lateral strike-slip faults
The San
Andreas
is a right-
lateral
strike-slip
fault
Earthquake rupture area vs. magnitude
4 types of seismic waves
P-wave (primary)
Compression and
dilatation
S-wave (secondary)
Up-down and side to
side motion
Love wave
Side to side motion
Rayleigh wave
Rolls like ocean wave
A simple
seismometer
What do seismographs show?
Magnitude of an earthquake
Richter scale
Earthquake magnitude
is related to the
amplitude of the
S-wave on a
seismograph
What does the Richter scale mean
in terms of what we feel?
Richter Magnitudes Earthquake Effects
Less than 3.5 Generally not felt, but recorded.
3.5-5.4 Often felt, but rarely causes damage.
Under 6.0 At most slight damage to well-designed buildings.
Can cause major damage to poorly constructed
buildings over small regions.
6.1-6.9 Can be destructive in areas up to about 100
kilometers across where people live.
7.0-7.9 Major earthquake. Can cause serious damage
over larger areas.
Loma Prieta was mag. 7.1
8 or greater Great earthquake. Can cause serious damage in
areas several hundred kilometers across.
In 1960, Chile had a 9.5 magnitude quake;
In 1964, Alaska experienced a 9.2 magnitude quake
How much energy is released in an
earthquake?
Three factors primarily determine
what you feel in an earthquake:
1. Magnitude
You feel more intense shaking from a big earthquake than from a small one; big earthquakes also release their
energy over a larger area and for a longer period of time.
2. Distance from the fault
Earthquake waves die off as they travel through the earth so the shaking becomes less intense farther from the
fault
3. Local soil conditions
Certain soils greatly amplify the shaking in an earthquake. Seismic waves travel at different speeds in
different types of rocks. Passing from rock to soil, the waves slow down but get bigger. A soft, loose soil will
shake more intensely than hard rock at the same distance from the same earthquake. The looser and thicker the
soil is, the greater the amplification will be, (e.g, Loma Prieta earthquake damage area of Oakland and Marina
(SF) were 100 km (60 mi) and most of the Bay Area escaped serious damage).
(4. Building type) The tops of high-rise buildings “feel” smaller earthquakes more
