1. Earthquake Data in the
Earthquake Toolbox
By: Tommy Sheppard

2. Map

3. Initial List of
Earthquakes
• Western America
• Chile
Some places that are “overdue”
• Algeria for an earthquake are
California, because it is next to
• Spain an active fault line. Another
place is China, they are next to
• Japan Japan and could feel some of the
aftershock from Japan’s
• Antarctica earthquake.
• Philippines
• Alaska
• Southern Europe
• Haiti

4. Ten Places Where Earthquakes
May Strike (Modified)
• California
Today, scientists use many
• Chile tools to help them better
predict earthquakes. They use
• Alaska Infrared Radiation (IR)
satellites to find seismic
• China waves. They also use satellites
to find magnetic waves which
• Italy help them predict earthquake
activity.
• Philippines
• India
• Japan
• Mexico
• Haiti

5. Explanation
• California: The map shows that it is next to a very “earthquake active” North American fault
line. This area is also very common to natural disasters, being next to the Pacific Ocean.
• Chile: This country pretty much runs along the majority of a fault line where earthquakes
are really common. In the past ten years there have been nine earthquakes with a magnitude
of 6.0 or higher.
• Alaska: In the southmost part of Alaska, there have been many earthquakes in the past year.
Also, the border or Africa lies on a convergent boundary.
• China: Since China is very close to Japan, I think that China may feel some of the aftershock
from the earthquake in Japan. In the past year, there have been many earthquakes in the
middle of the country, not just the border.
• Italy: It lies on a convergent boundary. In the past year, there have been some earthquakes,
some being significant.

6. Explanation cont.
• Philippines: All around this country there are tons of earthquakes. In the
future, The Philippines will most definitely experience earthquakes.
• India: There haven’t been many in a while. India lies on a convergent
boundary where they are at risk for earthquakes to strike.
• Japan: Japan could very easily feel some aftershock after the huge
earthquake that just occurred. These aftershocks could very easily be
very dangerous.
• Mexico: They are very prone to earthquakes, the past year, there have
been many earthquakes and the past few years there have been many
significant earthquakes.
• Haiti: About 12 months ago, Haiti was struck with an enormous
earthquake. They may be prone to experiencing another big earthquake.

7. What have you learned about
Earthquakes and Earthquake
Prediction?
I have learned a lot about earthquakes and
earthquake prediction. The first thing that I
learned is that there are actually thousands
of earthquakes every year. I used to think
that there was only a few. I learned that
earthquakes can be predicted by the past.
Some places have had many earthquakes in
the past, leading to the conclusion that
earthquakes may occur in certain areas.

8. What Factors Influence Earthquake
Prediction?
Throughout this project, I have learned a lot about the factors of
predicting earthquakes. There are some factors that help predict
when an earthquake occurs and the size of it. One is by looking at
the Excel spreadsheet and seeing all of the earthquakes that have
occurred in the past year. Information regarding the significant
earthquakes helps predict when and where significant earthquakes
may occur. For example, someone could have looked at a map that I
have but with information from a month earlier and could have
predicted that an earthquake in Japan may strike. Another way to
help predict where and earthquake may strike is by looking at fault
lines and noticing whether the fault line is active with earthquakes
in the past.

9. Where on Earth do most of the
really big earthquakes strike?
According to my map, most of the really big
earthquakes occur along the Eurasian fault
line and along the South American fault line.
According to the map, tons of earthquakes
have happened here. An example of
earthquakes in the Eurasian Plate Boundary
is the disastrous Earthquake in Japan.