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 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 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.

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 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.

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 use data on fault motion (derived from the horizontal movement of a GPS monument) to calculate the number of earthquakes necessary to build a montain range. They will also determine the average slip on a fault and recognize that it is different for earthquakes of different magnitudes. Full description.

This activity uses the free software 'Seismic Eruption' to visualize seismicity and volcanic activity in space and time and to explore the relationship of earthquakes and volcanic activiy to plate tectonics. Students run simulations on the Pacific coasts of South America and California and the mid-oceanic ridge in the Atlantic Ocean, answer questions, and construct a cross-section. A link to download ... Full description.