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An earthquake dissipates energy that has been built up in the lithosphere. This energy builds up due to the movement of the earth's tectonic plates. Where two tectonic plates interact (especially at collision or strike slip boundaries), the plates can become locked. This causes the lithosphere at these points to begin to deform causing a build of energy in the form of elastic strain. When the stress exceeds the strength of the rockmass, there is a sudden release of all the stored energy due to the occurrence of brittle failure where a fracture (or fault) is able to propagate through the material.

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14y ago

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What is the part of the earthquake?

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The lithosphere is changed when an earthquake hits. The lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth's surface that consists of the crust and upper mantle. Earthquakes can cause the lithosphere to shift, fracture, and create faults, leading to changes in the landscape.


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