Geography essay - earthquakes

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At a conservative margin two plates try to slide past each other slowly. Quite often, the two plates stick and pressure builds up; the release of this pressure creates a severe earthquake. There are no volcanic eruptions along conservative plate margins because the crust is neither being created nor destroyed. The classic example of a conservative plate margin is the San Andreas Fault in California. The North American and Pacific Plates are moving past each other at this margin, which is the location of many earthquakes. These earthquakes are caused by the accumulation and release of strain as the two plates slide past each other.

The vast majority of Earthquakes occur along plate margins. In fact the locations of the earthquakes and the kind of ruptures they produce help scientists define the plate margin. Many earthquakes form a narrow spread at some plate margins than others; generally speaking, the earthquakes at destructive plate margins have a greater spread and therefore affect more places than at conservative plate margins. According to plate tectonic theory, huge slabs of plates are in constant movement caused by convection currents, a lot of pressure builds up at the plate margins, which when released causes a sudden jolt or earthquake. This accounts for a large number of earthquakes that occur at plate margins. The fact that the most deadly earthquakes occur at destructive/transform plate margins suggests that greater pressure builds up than at constructive plate margins.  

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Earthquakes are probably the most frequent of all hazards, yet their impact on people, property and communities varies from one place to another. When it comes to buildings the type of building materials and designs used can minimize loss of life, mainly in wealthy areas. This was the case with the Loma Prieta earthquake where very few people were killed, however in some areas were more vulnerable with older buildings. With the Kobe earthquake (1995) there were less strict building regulations which led to high death toll of over 6,300. In poorer parts of the world building design is ...

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