When the Earth Moves : Rogue Earthquakes, Tremors, and Aftershocks

by Barnes-Svarney, Patricia

• ISBN13: 9781560259725
• ISBN10: 1560259728
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books Group

Summary

Unlike other natural disasters, scientists are far less able to predict an earthquake and even the places that are prone to earthquakes still do not and cannot prepare. Our most notorious earthquakes come from earthquake zones located at the boundaries of tectonic plates (irregular-shaped chunks of the Earth's crust), in most cases near a belt of volcanoes at the edges of moving plates encircling that ocean called the "Ring of Fire." But what about shaking in the wrong places? Consider the New Madrid Fault Zone right next to the Mississippi River; fractures in the crust that run through parts of New York, central North Carolina, and New Mexico; and a long sinuous cracked ridge from Utah to Montana. These are especially vulnerable areas, and much of our population is unaware that the threat of an earthquake is quite likely to occur. When the Earth Moves is a lively and accessible account of everything you wanted to know about the fault line that runs through Manhattan's Upper West Side, tsunamis, and volcanoes in the sea and how to prepare yourself for the earthquake that just might be waiting in your own backyard.

Author Biography

Patricia Lou Barnes-Svarney is the author of The New York Public Library Science Desk Reference and Asteroid: Earth Destroyer or New Frontier? She also has more than 350 magazine articles published in such magazines and e-zines as Popular Science, Weatherwise, Air & Space, Discovery.com, and others.

Table of Contents

Prologue	p. xi
The Basics - Quakes, Shakes, and Aftershocks
When the Earth Shakes	p. 3
Necessary Faults	p. 21
Quake Parts	p. 33
The Measuring Mess	p. 49
Quirks of Quakes	p. 67
Quakes in the Wrong Places
The New Madrid Disaster	p. 81
More Cases of Rogue Earthquakes	p. 105
Bad Effects	p. 147
Bizarre Quakes out of Nowhere	p. 193
Future Quakes: What's the Risk?
Forecasting Earthly Motions	p. 207
What Can We Do?	p. 223
The Best Defenses Are Good Resources	p. 247
Image Credits	p. 263
Index	p. 265
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