Earthquake Essay, Research Paper

An earthquake is a natural disturbance, characterized by a convulsion or concussion of the ground. Earthquakes originate at a point within the crust, when a force pushing on a mass of rock causes it to slip suddenly. Energy is released and travels, through rock, to the surface in the form of waves causing vibrations and shaking.

The word itself comes from the word earth, meaning ground or soil, and quake, meaning to shake or tremble. The word earth comes from the Middle English erthe, which comes from Old English eorthe. These in turn came from the Greek eraze, meaning “to the ground.” The word quake is derived from the Middle English quaken, which comes from Old English cwacian, meaning to shake or tremble. I was not until the year 1280, that the word earthquake was formed. Seism, earthtremor and cataclysm are other names for earthquakes, also seismism, earthquave and tremor.

Earthquakes, like hurricanes, are natural occurrences that bring about destruction and whose intensities are measured by specialists using specialized instruments. However, while a hurricane’s intensity is measured by testing the wind speed, the atmospheric pressure and the level of rainfall, an earthquake’s intensity is measured by testing the ground. The factors that are tested are, how fast the vibrations are moving from its source, how quickly the speed is changing, the frequency of the waves and the duration of the strong shaking. An earthquake’s intensity is rated according to the Richter scale of earthquake measurements. This scale is set from one to nine, one being the lowest intensity.