HOT TOPIC: Earthquakes
Volume 2, Issue 25 - March 12, 2006"Islamabad, March 10, 2006: An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter Scale shook the Pakistani capital of Islamabad and parts of eastern Punjab province today killing one person and injuring 22. The quake occurred ten miles below the earth’s surface. In truth, these kinds of events occur everyday around our globe, as the plates just beneath the earth’s surface continue to ebb and flow across a molten sea of magma. Earthquakes are a fascinating topic of study that interests students and fuels their imaginations.
It wasn’t until the last century that we truly began to understand the science behind these tumultuous events in earth’s history. In fact, April 18, 2006 will mark the 100th anniversary of the San Francisco earthquake. This event occurred at 5:00 AM and is still ranked as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Rupturing the northernmost 430 kilometers of the San Andreas Fault, it led to the rebound theory of earthquakes, and the modern science of understanding the earth’s surface.
Today with the immediacy of all forms of news media, we are almost instantly aware of the many natural disasters around the globe related to earthquakes, including volcanoes to tsunamis. And with the technologies available to us on the web it’s easier than ever to convey to students what we know about how these earth-events occur. I was especially pleased with my findings for this week’s topic, as I hope you will be in surveying them. There’s a rich collection of earthquake resources online that are ready to use in your classroom!"
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