The above photo is of the Emporeum and James Flood Building after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake (the virtual museum of the City of San Francisco).
What Is Magnitude?
Diagram from Scholastic News, 2012 Scholastic, Inc.
The Magnitude of an earthquake is dependent upon the depth of the focal point (the spot in which the movement occurred) and the amount of energy that was released during the episode of movement. The epicenter is the spot on the surface of the earth above this focal point.
From the epicenter, seismic waves (waves of energy that are transferred through the earth) are radiated outward; this is similar to the ripples in a still pond when a pebble is dropped into it. It is these waves of energy that cause the shaking of the earth and the resulting damage radiating out from the focal point. These are most strongly felt at and near the epicenter and dissipate (lessen) as they move further away from those points.
The magnitude of an eathquake is dependent upon the type of rocks, minerals and soils in the area; the more dense these materials are, the more energy they will convey. It is also dependent upon the amount of potential energy that is released upon the fault line at the point of movement and the duration of the movement (how quickly or slowly does the release of energy take as measured in time). The type of movement will contribute to the amount of energy that is released and the amount of time the release of energy takes.
The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale. This way of measuring earthquakes was developed in the early 1935 by Charles Richter. This is a mathematical measurement that uses a logarithm to calculate the intensity of the earth's movement. Siesmographs are used to measure the waves of energy released at the focus point on the fault line and then this data is calculated into the numerical value on the Richter Scale, ranging from 1 (least) to 10 (maximum). If you want to learn more about how eathquakes are measured, go to the United States Geological Society website by clicking here.
Now, let's take a look at recent information on earthquakes by clicking here.
From the epicenter, seismic waves (waves of energy that are transferred through the earth) are radiated outward; this is similar to the ripples in a still pond when a pebble is dropped into it. It is these waves of energy that cause the shaking of the earth and the resulting damage radiating out from the focal point. These are most strongly felt at and near the epicenter and dissipate (lessen) as they move further away from those points.
The magnitude of an eathquake is dependent upon the type of rocks, minerals and soils in the area; the more dense these materials are, the more energy they will convey. It is also dependent upon the amount of potential energy that is released upon the fault line at the point of movement and the duration of the movement (how quickly or slowly does the release of energy take as measured in time). The type of movement will contribute to the amount of energy that is released and the amount of time the release of energy takes.
The magnitude of an earthquake is measured on the Richter Scale. This way of measuring earthquakes was developed in the early 1935 by Charles Richter. This is a mathematical measurement that uses a logarithm to calculate the intensity of the earth's movement. Siesmographs are used to measure the waves of energy released at the focus point on the fault line and then this data is calculated into the numerical value on the Richter Scale, ranging from 1 (least) to 10 (maximum). If you want to learn more about how eathquakes are measured, go to the United States Geological Society website by clicking here.
Now, let's take a look at recent information on earthquakes by clicking here.