Topic Summaries

Earthquake key terms

IGCSE > Geography > Pearson IGCSE > IGCSE Geography Topic Summaries > Earth layers and earthquakes > Earthquake key terms
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Weather hazards and atmospheric circulation

Hot desert ecosystems

Cold environment ecosystems

Glacial landscapes

Glacial landform processes

Energy supply

  • Richter scale: measures how strong (intense) an earthquake is. The scale goes from 1 to 10 but is logarithmic, meaning that every increase on this scale actually releases x10 the amount of energy (e.g. an earthquake measuring 3 on the Richter scale is barely felt, whereas a 6 is enough to damage buildings near the epicentre).
  • Focus: is the exact point underground where the earthquake starts. It occurs deep in the Earth’s crust where the tectonic plates move. 
  • Epicentre: is a point on the Earth’s surface directly above the focus. This is the location where the earthquake is experienced most intensely.

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