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An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes may also be referred to as quakes, tremors, or temblors. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling . In its most general sense, an earthquake is any seismic event ...
N. nadir. narrows. Also narrow. A land or water passage that is confined or restricted by its narrow breadth, often a strait or a water gap. nation. A stable community of people formed on the basis of a common geographic territory, language, economy, ethnicity, or psychological make-up as manifested in a common culture. national mapping agency.
Submarine earthquake, an earthquake that occurs underwater at the bottom of a body of water, especially an ocean. [ 17] Supershear earthquake, an earthquake in which the propagation of the rupture along the fault surface occurs at speeds in excess of the seismic shear wave (S-wave) velocity, causing an effect analogous to a sonic boom. [ 18]
Seismology ( / saɪzˈmɒlədʒi, saɪs -/; from Ancient Greek σεισμός ( seismós) meaning "earthquake" and -λογία ( -logía) meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or other planetary bodies. It also includes studies of ...
Plate tectonics (from Latin tectonicus, from Ancient Greek τεκτονικός (tektonikós) 'pertaining to building') [ 1] is the scientific theory that Earth 's lithosphere comprises a number of large tectonic plates, which have been slowly moving since 3–4 billion years ago. [ 2][ 3][ 4] The model builds on the concept of continental ...
Seismic hazard. Surface motion map for a hypothetical earthquake on the northern portion of the Hayward Fault Zone and its presumed northern extension, the Rodgers Creek Fault Zone. A seismic hazard is the probability that an earthquake will occur in a given geographic area, within a given window of time, and with ground motion intensity ...
The process of determining a specific date (in years or some other unit of time) for an archaeological, geological or paleontological site or artifact. accident. A sudden discontinuity of ground, such as a fault of great thickness, bed or lentil of unstable ground. [ 1]
This glossary of geography terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts used in geography and related fields, including Earth science, oceanography, cartography, and human geography, as well as those describing spatial dimension, topographical features, natural resources, and the collection, analysis, and visualization of geographic data.