answersLogoWhite

0

Earthquakes are caused by the build up or accumulation of pressure (more correctly termed stress).

This accumulation of stress causes the rocks that make up the crust to deform elastically. This is very similar to what happens when you squash or stretch a spring and causes a form of energy to be stored in the rocks of the crust - technically described as elastic potential energy.

When this stress gets to large, it exceeds the strength of the rocks in the crust and causes a brittle failure. Brittle failures are failures where fractures form through the material.

This sudden brittle failure causes all of the elastic potential energy to be released at one time in the form of seismic waves, just as if a spring or elastic band that was being stretched suddenly snapped.

These seismic waves cause the tremors that people feel on the surface and which can cause damage to buildings and other structures.

User Avatar

Wiki User

14y ago

What else can I help you with?

Continue Learning about Natural Sciences
Related Questions

Are earthquakes geological?

Yes, earthquakes are geological.


What internal process causes most earthquakes?

Plate tectonics


Do earthquakes have a geologic meteorological or human cause?

Earthquakes have a geological cause.


What causes earquake?

dunno what happends in your ear, but earthquakes is caused by rupture of geological faults, but also by volcanic activity, landslides, mine blasts, and nuclear experiments.


What natural process caused the Los Angeles earthquake?

The shifting of tectonic plates causes earthquakes.


Which geological process occurs in the shortest amount of time?

Earthquakes occur in the shortest amount of time among geological processes. These sudden releases of energy in the Earth's crust can happen in a matter of seconds to minutes, causing rapid shaking and displacement of the ground.


Can earthquakes cause other geological disasters?

earthquakes can cause tsunamis, landslides, flooding, and volcanos


What is earthquakes and its causes?

Earthquakes are cool...


What is a geological process?

A geological process is something which affects the earth and can be considered as earth forming or earth weathering. Examples of geological processes include: volcanism, glaciation, earthquakes, weathering etc.


Is earthquakes cause by weather related geological in nature or humans?

It is both because earthquakes are gecologic events.


How do earthquakes occur on convergent boundaries?

Earthquakes occur on convergent boundaries when tectonic plates collide, creating immense pressure. The immense pressure causes one plate to be forced beneath the other in a process known as subduction. The process of subduction generates seismic waves, leading to earthquakes.


What kind of geological event happen with plate movement?

Earthquakes and tsunamis