Earthquake Web Sites
U.S. Geological Survey. Provides information under headings of Latest Quakes, What’s New, Hazards and Preparedness, More on Earthquakes, Earthquake Studies, and Links. The Latest Quakes section provides listings of recent earthquakes and interactive maps of areas around the world. The More on Earthquakes section provides information on historical U.S. earthquakes, a tutorial on how epicenters are determined, and links to K-12 earthquake classroom activities and science projects.
Big Trouble in Earthquake Country. Lesson plan for grades 9-12, developed at UC-Berkeley, in which students use on-line earthquakes hazards maps to assess potential hazards to people and property.
Surfing for Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Lesson plan for grades 6-8, developed at UC-Berkeley, in which students use the Internet to research volcanoes and earthquakes, and then plot their locations to map plate boundaries
Make your own seismogram! University of California, Berkeley. Lets you link up to any of several California seismographic stations, enter a time and day (1992 to current) and plot an image (GIF file) of an earthquake recording. Also lets you view recordings of famous earthquakes.
Southern California Earthquake Data Center. Offers still and animated maps of southern California earthquake activity, as well as databases. Animated maps plot earthquakes of magnitude 4 or greater, year-by-year, across southern California. An animated example of all quakes measured in a day is also interesting. The site contains an education section with a Regional Seismicity Education Module, and a Space Technology to Observe and Measure Tectonic Motion Module, as well as links to other earthquake lessons and activities.
Earthquakes for Kids. U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency, offers information about earthquakes specifically designed for children including, Earthquake fact or fiction, Home hazard hunt, Historic earthquakes, Tasty quake, Map of earthquake-risk states, Earthquake disaster math, Disaster intensity scales, Water, wind, and earth game, and Earthquake legends. Also, FEMA publishes a book and curriculum for teaching earthquakes. To obtain a free copy of FEMA report 159, write on your school letterhead to FEMA, PO Box 70271, Washington, DC 20024.
The Seismological Society of America. The society is a professional organization that publishes two monthly publications on earthquake research. At this site, recent Eduquakes articles and a Seismology Resources for Teachers list can be accessed. The resources list is an annotated reference list for K-12 teachers categorized by references information, maps, videotapes, slide sets, computer hardware and software, seismographs, and databases.
Earthquake--Fault Types and Models Websites
Seven Paper Models that Describe Faulting in the Earth, Alpha, T.R., and Lahr, J.C., U.S. Geological Survey. Online version of U.S.G.S. Open File Report 90-257A, which contains patterns for paper models of normal, reverse, strike-slip, and oblique faults.
Fault Analysis Group, Martin Schöpfer, Department of Geology, University of Dublin. This site provides information about faults designed for teaching undergraduate introductory courses on geology, but with useful information for middle and high school education as well. The Gallery section contains photographs, cross sections, and maps that illustrate various types of faults. The Educational Material section provides paper models to help students visualize the geometries of rock layers associated with faults. Choose Paper Models, and then on the Paper Models page, scroll down the list and choose Fault Types. Just cut along the dashed lines, fold, and you’ll have 3-D models of normal, reverse, strike-slip, and oblique faults.
Teaching About Plate Tectonics and Faulting Using Foam Models, Braile, L.W., Purdue University. Online activity with objectives, matierials, and procedures for cutting foam into 3-D models to help visualize plate tectonic principles, and relative motions of faulting.
How Earthquakes Work, Harris, T., How Stuff Works website. Website provides simple, brief animations of normal, reverse, and strike-slip faults to help students visualize how the earth’s crust moves along each of these kinds of faults.
Types of Faults. Marshak, S., Essentials of Geology, W.W. Norton and Company website. Three animations of normal, reverse, and strike-slip fault movement that you control from initial movement to subsequent landscape development. Requires Macromedia Flash 5 plug-in to run. Animations of seismic wave motions are also offered.
The Great New Madrid Earthquakes Web Sites
Summary of 1811-1812 New Madrid Earthquakes Sequence, USGS
Saint Louis University Earthquake Center. If you're interested in earthquakes in Kentucky, this site contains an introduction to the New Madrid earthquakes, locations and tabulation of central U.S. earthquakes, and links to other earthquake sites.
The Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Memphis. Contains information on facts and myths about earthquakes, as well as summaries of current research.