Honors 101 - Science and the Public Good
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Earthquakes

There's no specific reading assignment for this topic. If you want some text to reinforce the lectures, see the link at the bttom of this page.

What is required is that you evaluate your own hazard from an earthquake. Warning: some of these links download large files. You may want to do this assignment in a University lab over Ethernet rather than over a dial-up connection at home.

From these links, put together as much information as you can find about historic earthquakes, likelihood of future quakes, and hazard from landslides or liquefaction (you may not find all this information for every region).

Write a brief summary of the earthquake hazards for your hometown and bring it to class to turn in.

Choose the links for the region you are from:

Bay Area I, Bay Area II, Bay Area III

Southern California I, Southern California II,

Anywhere else in California I,

For all areas: find the maximum credible earthquake for the fault closest to your home. The number on the fault (black labels on the red lines) tells you how big an earthquake is expected on that fault. The colors of the lines around each fault tell you how intense the shaking would be (red - highest, purple - lowest)

For all areas: generate an earthquake probability map for your hometown (enter the zip code in the form).

Check the 24 hour forecast for aftershocks anywhere in the state.

 

Below are links for reviewing earthquakes to use in preparing for the exam:

USGS Earthquake FAQs

Exploratorium Faultline