Earthquakes are one of the most damaging natural disasters known to man. They have been known to destroy entire cities in their total time of 2 to 3 minutes. Most people do not know that earthquakes are common through out the entire world; they are just more powerful in places such as California and small countries in South America. The definition of earthquake is " a series of vibrations induced in the earth's crust by the abrupt rupture and rebound of rocks in which elastic strain has been slowly accumulating" according to Infoseek.com.. As a consequence of continental plate movement, the Earth's surface near active faults deforms before, during and after earthquakes. Similarly, the ground surface near active volcanoes also deforms as a consequence of eruptions and volcano evolution. Crystal deformation can be observed as relative movement of points on the Earth's surface, ground tilt, ground strain, and fault slip (creep). There are five primary regions in California where......
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