Energy What patterns to you see in the distribution of earthquakes across the continental United States?

The distribution of earthquakes across the United States is focused on a number of different pockets. The most notable include: the entire Pacific coastline, the Midwest along the Mississippi River Valley (i.e. Missouri, Southern Illinois, West Tennessee as well as parts of Northeastern Arkansas) and the Southeastern United States. These different elements are important, because they are showing how the majority of quakes are occurring along major fault lines within these regions. ("U.S. Fault Line Graphics," 2010)

Locate your home on this map and make a note of the relative risk to you by indicating the color where you live.

On the map, the color of possible earthquake activity is blue. This is an indication that there was a minor tremor that was occurring in the last week. However, the effects were so small that it did not cause any kind of property damage or casualties. ("Latest Earthquakes in the Last Seven Days," 2011)

What patterns do you see in the distribution of earthquakes around the world?

The most notable patterns that are occurring in major earthquakes are taking place on some of the largest fault lines throughout the world. This is where the different plates will intersect with one another. The reason why, is because these areas are located at points where two different plates are constantly rubbing together.

Click on one of the earthquakes on the map and make a note of its magnitude and region.

The region that was chosen was Southern California (most notably: South of Los Angeles and North of San Diego). Over the past 30 days, there were a number of major tremors that were less than 1.0 on the Richter scale.

Would you be willing to live in one of the red areas on the map? Explain

Yes. If you are aware of the dangers in the area,...

At the same time, you could prepare an earthquake survival kit and practice for possible scenarios that could occur. If someone is taking these kinds of steps, they will be able to be prepared for these types of issues in the future. Once this takes place, it means that the odds of being dramatically affected by these situations are reduced. This is the key in being able to survive these kinds of events. It is also important to note, that just because one particular region of the country has the potential to have major earthquakes, does not mean that one will occur. That being said, if you properly prepare for them, then the ability to survive and reduce the amounts of collateral damage to your property decrease. Therefore, if these kinds of precautions can be taken they will help to limit the adverse effects of what is happening.
If you and your family were forced to relocate to a red area, how could you use the USGS resources on earthquake readiness to help your family prepare themselves?

The USGS publishes a guidebook that will help you to prepare for potential earthquakes. As, this will identify ways to: protect yourself, your family and property prior to such incidents occurring. A good example of this can be seen by looking no further than, the eight steps that guide is outlining as a way to protect yourself in the eventuality that a quake will occur. These include: identifying potential hazards in your home / how to fix them, creating a disaster preparedness plan, building a disaster preparedness kit, identifying / fixing your buildings for potential weaknesses, how to protect yourself during an earthquake, checking for injuries and how to continue with your disaster preparedness plan in aftermath of these events. These different elements are important, because they are providing specific…