seismic zone
Tremor-prone territory
A seismic zone is a geographic area characterized by a particular level of earthquake activity or risk.
Geologists and engineers use seismic zones to classify regions according to the frequency and intensity of earthquakes they experience, which informs building codes and construction standards.
The entire Pacific Rim lies within an active seismic zone.
Areas near tectonic plate boundaries typically fall into higher seismic zones than those in the middle of continental plates.
- Ring of FirePacific tectonic boundary zone
- San AndreasCalifornia fault zone
- aftershockSmaller quake following larger
- fault lineTectonic boundary crack
- hypocenterEarthquake's underground origin point
tectonic plate · S-wave · seismograph · disaster management · tremor · ground shaking · volcanic arc · retrofitting · structural engineering · liquefaction · magnitude · lithosphere · ground · shaking · crust · unstable · active · rupture
- earthquakesearthquake, quake, earthquakes, quakes, epicenter
- geologybedrock, fault lines, faults, rock, basalt
- earth zonespolar region, arctic, Antarctic, tropics, subtropics
- Earth's interiorcrust, mantle, core, inner core, outer core
- faultsfault, flaw, defect, imperfection, shortcoming
- Italian GeologyVesuvius, Mount Etna, Etna, Stromboli, Dolomites