An earthquake is when rock underneath the ground breaks and slides. It can slide in different ways. There are actually names for all of them. The first one is called the "Normal fault". The second one is called the "Reverse fault". The third one is called the "Strike-slip fault" and the fourth one is called the "Oblique fault". When the rock is breaking it sends out a sudden release of energy ripples that result in shaking movements. This is called the "Seismic wave". Seismic is the Greek word for shaking.
Here are 2 famous earthquakes that happened in the 1900's.
1. San Francisco, California. April 18th, 1906. (magnitude: about 8)
This earthquake was amazing because everyone could see the "Strike-slip". The crack went through the city and far beyond it. The crack was 248 miles long and 6 miles deep!
2. Tokyo Japan. September 1st, 1923. (magnitude: about 8.2)
140,000 people were killed in this earthquake.
Here is a link to some amazing earthquake ghost town villages in Italy.
http://www.weather.com/travel/earthquake-ghost-towns-italy-photos-20130805?pageno=1
1. San Francisco, California. April 18th, 1906. (magnitude: about 8)
This earthquake was amazing because everyone could see the "Strike-slip". The crack went through the city and far beyond it. The crack was 248 miles long and 6 miles deep!
2. Tokyo Japan. September 1st, 1923. (magnitude: about 8.2)
140,000 people were killed in this earthquake.
Here is a link to some amazing earthquake ghost town villages in Italy.
http://www.weather.com/travel/earthquake-ghost-towns-italy-photos-20130805?pageno=1