Earthquakes can be very dangerous and destructive. They can happen anytime and anywhere but they mostly happen on a fault line. There are different kinds of faults. Most earthquakes happen when thin ocean plates crash into and slide under thicker continental plates. This causes a lot of pressure between the plates that can suddenly burst and crumble into an earthquake. Earthquakes in or near the ocean are especially dangerous because they can cause tidal waves or tsunamis. Earthquakes can happen anywhere when rocks break or shift underground. The breaks are called faults. There are three kinds of faults.
Normal Fault and Reverse Normal Fault: Rocks pull away from each other when one edge of the break falls downward and the other side is then higher. Parallel faults can form along the main fault too.
Thrust Fault: Rocks push together and cause a break. One side of the fault rises up over the other side. The Appalacian mountains in the USA were formed this way.
Lateral Fault or Strike-Slip Fault: This is when the rocks slide against each other sideways instead of up or down. It makes a wide crack in the ground like the San Andreas Fault in California.
Have you seen a fault line? Are you near a fault line?
Normal Fault and Reverse Normal Fault: Rocks pull away from each other when one edge of the break falls downward and the other side is then higher. Parallel faults can form along the main fault too.
Thrust Fault: Rocks push together and cause a break. One side of the fault rises up over the other side. The Appalacian mountains in the USA were formed this way.
Lateral Fault or Strike-Slip Fault: This is when the rocks slide against each other sideways instead of up or down. It makes a wide crack in the ground like the San Andreas Fault in California.
Have you seen a fault line? Are you near a fault line?