Welcome 7th graders! Your project is to research the New Madrid Seismic Zone. Using your research, predict whether or not you believe a big earthquake (7.0 or greater) will occur in your lifetime. Questions? Talk to your teacher Mrs. Rowe or ask a librarian!
"An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel."
There are different ways to measure an earthquake:
The Richter Scale (most commonly used)
The Moment Magnitude Scale
The Mercalli Scale
