This lesson on earthquakes is based on naturalist John Muir's experiences with two significant earthquakes, the 1872 earthquake on the east side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. Students will learn to explain that earthquakes are sudden motions along breaks in the crust called faults, and list the major geologic events including earthquakes, volcanic ... Full description.

In this activity, students use push pins to plot the locations of earthquakes on a large world map. The locations will reinforce the concept that earthquakes are not randomly distributed around the earth, but occur at plate boundaries. A materials list, instructions, and a website address to obtain earthquake data are provided. Full description.

In this activity, students plot daily earthquake locations on a world map. They will understand that earthquakes are not randomly distributed around the Earth, but occur at plate interfaces, and learn to identify the 'Ring of Fire' around the Pacific Basin. Full description.

In this activity students discover that earthquakes are among Earth's most spectacular natural phenomena and that in understanding what causes earthquakes we can use earthquake or seismic waves to learn about Earth's interior. Students also learn the other aspects of seismology (the study of earthquakes), which are important parts of any Earth Science program. Students will also learn more about how ... Full description.

In this lesson, students explore the causes of earthquakes and their impact on the geology of an area and on human societies. They begin by looking at the role tectonic plates play in creating the forces that cause earthquakes, to help them understand why earthquakes occur when and where they do. Hands-on activities illustrate how rocks can withstand a certain amount of stress, but that every material ... Full description.

This is a lesson designed for 7-12th (adaptable for 4-6) grade students. It focuses on earthquakes in the Utah region, but can be adapted to use anywhere. Forty-eight Intermountain West earthquakes that have occurred since 1876 have been researched by Earthquake Education Services (EES). Newspaper articles, individual accounts (diary entries, interviews, letters, etc.), and photographs have been collected. ... Full description.

In this activity, students use online resources to investigate the occurrence of earthquakes in Southern California to decide if there has been a 'deficit', that is, not enough earthquakes in the area in historical time to release the amount of strain energy that plate tectonics is constantly supplying to the crust. In the first two parts, they must determine the appropriate year to begin their study ... Full description.

In this activity, students will use data from Indiana PEPP (Princeton Earth Physics Project) stations and the 'Jules Verne Voyager Jr.' global map tool to investigate the relationship between earthquakes and plate boundaries. Working with a list of earthquakes obtained from the PEPP website, they will correlate and assess the location of the earthquakes and plate boundaries, the age of the ocean and ... Full description.

In this activity, students investigate the distribution of large earthquakes (magnitude greater than 6) in Southern California. Using online maps of earthquake epicenters in Southern California and the Los Angeles Basin, they will compare these distributions with historic distributions (1932-1996), and with respect to the locations of major fault traces. Full description.

In this activity, students plot the locations of earthquakes on a world map for a week or more, and examine their distribution in relationship to Earth's plate boundaries. It includes a bilingual vocabulary list (Spanish/English). Full description.