Earthquake and Volcano Vocab

Front

What is a composite volcano?

Back

A large, steep-sided volcano that results from explosive eruptions of lava along convergent plate boundaries.

Front

What is magma?

Back

Molten rock beneath the earth's surface.

Front

What is a shield volcano?

Back

A large volcano with gentle slopes of basaltic lava; located along divergent plate boundaries and oceanic hot spots.

Front

What is a secondary wave?

Back

A type of seismic wave that causes particles to move at right angles relative to the direction the wave travels.

Front

What is a fault?

Back

A break in Earth's lithosphere where one block of rock moves toward, away from, or past another.

Front

What is lava?

Back

Molten rock that reaches the Earth's surface.

Front

What is an earthquake?

Back

The shaking of the Earth's surface caused by the sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere.

Front

What is the epicenter of an earthquake?

Back

The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.

Front

What is a focus in relation to earthquakes?

Back

The point within the Earth where an earthquake originates.

Front

What are primary waves?

Back

The fastest type of seismic wave that compresses and expands the material they move through.