Lesson 2

Earthquakes

What are earthquakes?

Earth’s surface is always changing. Most
changes are slow, such as weathering. Sometimes
changes happen quickly. For example, Earth’s
surface can shake or shift suddenly.

Earth’s Moving Crust

Earth’s surface is covered with its crust. The
crust is Earth’s outermost layer, much like an apple
has an outer layer of skin. The crust is made up of
all of Earth’s land, including the ocean bottoms.
The crust is broken into huge pieces, or plates.
The plates fit together like puzzle pieces. Unlike
puzzle pieces, the plates can move.

Earth’s Plates

place where an
Reading Maps
earthquake has
The dots and dashes are often found in the same happened
places. This means that earthquakes tend to happen edges of plates
along the edges of plates.

106
Fast Changes on Earth
 A Route 14 near Sylmar, California, was heavily damaged
as a result of an earthquake on January 17, 1994.

At the edges of the plates, there are cracks

in the crust. These cracks are called faults. Along
a fault, two plates can move by:
• sliding past each other
• pushing into each other
• pulling apart.
When plates move, earthquakes can happen.
An earthquake is a movement in the crust caused
by a sudden shift of the plates.
As the red dots in the map show, earthquakes
tend to happen at the edges of the plates. Most
earthquakes happen around the Pacific Ocean.

Quick Check
Match the description with the word.

7. happens at plate edges a. crust

8. piece of the crust b. earthquake

9. crack in the crust c. plate

10. all of Earth’s land d. fault

107
Chapter 5 • Lesson 2
What causes an earthquake?
Earthquakes happen along cracks,
or faults, in the crust. Along a fault,
parts of the crust on either side may:
• rise up or move down
• slide past each other.
The movement may be very slow,
Strike-Slip Fault
just centimeters a year. In that case,
an earthquake does not happen.
The plates slide past each
Instead, when parts of the crust move
other along the fault.
up or down slowly over many years,
mountains may be formed.
When the movement is sudden,
an earthquake happens. The ground
shakes, or vibrates. The ground may
split open. The ground vibrates in
all directions from the center of the
earthquake. People far from the
center of the earthquake may feel a
slight shaking. Reverse Fault

The plates push into each

other. The part of the crust
Normal Fault above the fault surface (in this
case, the right side) rises up.
The plates pull apart. The part
of the crust above the fault
surface (in this case, the right
side) moves down.

108
Fast Changes on Earth
Earthquake Safety
People who live where earthquakes
happen can stay safe. Here are some
safety tips:
• Place breakable or heavy objects on
lower shelves. Bolt down appliances.
These are two ways to keep heavy
objects from falling. The Sierra Nevada mountains
• Locate safe spots at home and formed over centuries where
school—such as under a sturdy table. plates pull apart.
• If outside in a quake, move to an
open space away from buildings or
power lines. This way you can stay
safe from things falling on you.
• Have family earthquake drills.
Together find a safe spot. Then
drop, cover, and hold on. Arrange
a meeting place outside the home.
• Drivers should stop during an Along the San Andreas Fault,
earthquake. Passengers should rocks slide past each other.
stay inside the car. Many earthquakes in California
take place along this fault.

Quick Check
Fill in the missing “Cause” and “Effects” in the diagram.

Cause Effect

sudden movement along a fault

11.

Mountains may form.

12.

Bolt appliances down.

13.

Move away from tall buildings.

14.

109
Chapter 5 • Lesson 2
What is a tsunami?
Have you ever seen small waves rise and fall as
they reach a shore. However, some large ocean
waves can be 30 meters (100 feet) tall and travel
at a speed of 960 kilometers (600 miles) per hour.
That kind of a wave is a tsunami (sew•NAH•mee).
Tsunami is a giant ocean wave.

Tsunamis are caused by:

• underwater landslides
• underwater erupting volcanoes
• most often, underwater earthquakes.
An earthquake may be strong enough to set a
wave moving. In deep water the wave may pass
by unnoticed. Closer to the shore, the wave slows
down, but gets taller.

center of
earthquake
tsunami

shore

The waves from an underwater earthquake

travel outward in all directions. Some of these
waves may reach the shore as a tsunami.

110
Fast Changes on Earth
 A tsunami may reach the shore as one huge
wall of water or as several smaller waves. Either
way, they are fast and powerful. They wash away
beaches, property, and lives.
In December 2004, an earthquake in the
Indian Ocean caused a tsunami to hit Sumatra.
Then tsunamis reached Sri Lanka in two hours
and South Africa in seven hours—800 kilometers
(5,000 miles) from the earthquake.
If you are near a coast and learn of an
earthquake, listen to news reports for tsunami
warnings. If there is a warning, move to higher
ground immediately.

Nearly 300,000 people lost their lives in the tsunami

of December 2004, mostly in Sumatra.

Quick Check

15. What are some ways a tsunami can form?

16. Why are tsunamis dangerous?

-Review Summaries and quizzes online @ www.macmillanmh.com

111
Chapter 5 • Lesson 2
Lesson 3
Volcanoes

What is a volcano?
Did you ever shake a can of soda and then open
it. Shaking releases gas from the soda. The gas
explodes in a spray. Something similar can happen
to a volcano.
A volcano is a mountain built up around an
opening in the crust. The opening may form from
a crack. Sometimes magma may melt upward and
crack the land. In either case, a volcano may erupt
suddenly—forcing out melted rock, gases, and
pieces of solid rock.
A volcano erupts when magma (melted rock)
below the volcano rises to the surface. Gases
escape from the magma as it rises. If the gases
escape slowly, a volcano erupts gently. If the gases
escape quickly, a volcano explodes.

A When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, it “blew its top,”

leaving a huge cuplike opening at the top. The land
around the volcano was buried under ash and soot.

112
Fast Changes on Earth
Rising Magma Volcano Formation
At the center of a volcano is
ash
an opening called a vent. The
vent may form from movement
vent lava
along a fault. Or magma may
melt upward and crack through
the surface.
As magma rises up through
a vent, it reaches the surface.
When magma reaches the
surface, it becomes lava. Lava
is melted rock that starts to
cool and harden.
Lava can ooze or explode
out of a volcano. Either way, it
hardens into a layer around the
magma
vent. Some volcanoes release
ash, which also forms a layer.
The volcano gets bigger each Reading Diagrams
time the volcano erupts and What forms on the sides of a volcano
lava and ash build up around each time the volcano erupts?
the vent.
Watch a volcano
erupt @ www.macmillanmh.com

Quick Check
Fill in the boxes to explain how a volcano can erupt.

First 17.

Next 18.

Last The volcano erupts. Lava or ash is released.

113
Chapter 5 • Lesson 3
What are some kinds of volcanoes?
Volcanoes have different shapes. The shape
depends on how a volcano erupts and what it
releases when it erupts.

Cinder-Cone Volcano cinder-cone volcano

This kind of volcano:
• is shaped like a cone and crater
has steep sides layers of rock
fragments steep sides
• has thick magma inside.
This magma has lots of magma
trapped gas.
• forms from explosions.
With each explosion, lava
bursts into the air. The lava
hardens into rock fragments,
The fragments settle into a
layer around the vent. A cuplike
shape, a crater, forms around
the vent.

This cinder-cone
volcano is in Lassen
Volcanic National Park in
northeastern California. C

114
Fast Changes on Earth
Shield Volcano shield volcano
This kind of volcano: wide, almost flat sides
• has wide, almost flat sides
• forms from lava flowing from one magma
or more openings.
This kind of volcano forms from
layers of lava that build up over years.
The Hawaiian Islands are all shield
volcanoes.

Composite Volcano composite volcano

This kind of volcano:
layers of rock fragments
• is made up of layers of lava
and layers of lava
and ash
• has a cone shape with sides that
match, one as steep as another. magma
This kind of volcano forms when it
erupts in two ways. It erupts quietly
releasing lava. Then it explodes
releasing ash. These two ways keep
“taking turns.”

Quick Check
Match the volcano with the description.

19. cinder-cone a. wide, almost flat sides

20. shield b. forms from lava and ash

21. composite c. forms from rock fragments

115
Chapter 5 • Lesson 3
 active volcanoes

Where do volcanoes form?

Many volcanoes form at the edges of plates.
Remember, plates are pieces of the crust.
Volcanoes form where two plates meet.
• When two plates push together One plate
moves under the other. The plate that moves
down under melts and forms magma. The
magma rises and forms a volcano
• When two plates pull apart Magma rises up
through an opening when plates pull apart.
These volcanoes often form along the ocean
bottom.
• Hot spots Some volcanoes form in the middle
of a plate. They form when a plate moves over a
hot spot. A hot spot is a place where magma has
melted part of the way through the crust.

116
Fast Changes on Earth
 direction of plate
movement

K AUAI
OAHU
MOLOKAI
Formation of the MAUI
Hawaiian Islands
HAWAII

Hawaiian Islands HOT SPOT

The Hawaiian Islands are actually

volcanoes. They were formed when
a plate moved over a hot spot. As
the plate moved, magma rose up and
broke through the surface. The magma
formed one volcano after another in
a chain. Hawaii is the youngest island,
the only one still erupting.

Volcano Safety
To stay safe where volcanoes may erupt:
• stay away from lava flows
• have breathing masks and goggles ready
• obey your town’s warning system. Leave
immediately if told to do so.

Quick Check
How do volcanoes form at each place?

22. where two plates push together

23. hot spot

24. Why are breathing masks important if you live near an active

volcano?

-Review Summaries and quizzes online @ www.macmillanmh.com

117
Chapter 5 • Lesson 3
Vocabulary
Review

Fast Changes on Earth

Use a word from the box to name each example
described below. earthquake
hot spot
1.
the quick downhill movement of loose landslide
rocks and soil mudslide
tsunami
2.
volcano
water-soaked land that slides down a hill

3.
a sudden movement in the crust

4.
a giant wave caused by an earthquake

5.
a mountain that builds up around an opening in Earth’s crust

6.
a place in the crust where magma rises almost to the surface

Answer the question. Use at least one word from the box at the
top of the page.

7. How can moving water change the land?

118
Chapter 5 • Lessons 1–3 • Vocabulary Review
Write the missing words in the blanks. Then find the same words in
the puzzle.

1. A cuplike shape that forms around the vent of a volcano

2. Earth’s outermost layer .

3. A crack in Earth’s crust .

4. Large amount of water overflowing the sides of a river or a drain

5. A large, moving piece of Earth’s crust .

6. the opening in the center of a volcano .

O M D O H G I V B J T U I G Y
Y E X S P S D O W Z S I H Z Y
W W X G Y S I I V D U C I E G
N V P E F L T E H R R H G G G
H E W O B H U G S A C N K Q E
L T K S B V U Y D F A U L T U
Q N K N L J I V M O H U A Q G
K N I P C H Q C E S O L S A K
V N N J V B N X T N P L W P L
R E T A R C E U P L T N F B C
F P U A B J T N O Y E F D V B
I W M O P S B V C P K U H F L
K L R M H J T C B E B G R M T
I J Y G V F N J C V T R G G T
Z Q I M I B W Q W V Q H I Q D

119
Chapter 5 • Lessons 1–3 • Vocabulary Review