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Multiple Choice Quiz
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This Quiz prepared by Leslie J. Sonder, Dartmouth College.



1

The San Andreas fault system began when __________________.
A)a spreading center formed at the western edge of the present-day United States
B)a segment of the Pacific spreading ridge made contact with the western edge of North America
C)continent-continent collision occurred between the Pacific plate and North American plate
D)the North American plate began subducting beneath the Pacific plate
E)volcanic activity started at the western edge of North America
2

The western edge of the United States has greater potential for earthquakes than the eastern edge because ___________________.
A)the east coast of the United States is not an active tectonic plate boundary
B)the San Andreas fault system lies on the western edge of North America
C)subduction zones occur along the western edge of North America
D)answers A and B
E)answers A, B, and C
3

Earthquake events from northern California to Alaska are related mostly to _________________.
A)oceanic-continent subduction with reverse faulting
B)plate divergence with normal faulting
C)continent-continent collision with reverse faulting
D)transform plate motion with strike-slip faulting
E)answers B and C
F)answers A and D
4

The 1964 Good Friday earthquake in Alaska caused _________________.
A)large fractures in the earth
B)ground subsidence
C)tsunami
D)landslides
E)all of the above
5

The 1960 Chile earthquake (MW 9.5) is significant because
A)Charles Darwin observed it and wrote about it.
B)It is the largest earthquake ever measured.
C)It serves as an example of what a magnitude 9+ earthquake on the Cascadia subduction zone might be like for the residents of Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
D)answers B and C
E)answers A, B, and C
6

The 1985 Mexico City earthquake was created when the ___________________.
A)Juan de Fuca plate moved beneath the North America plate
B)Pacific plate moved beneath the North American plate
C)Cocos plate moved beneath North American plate
D)Cocos plate moved beneath South America plate
E)Pacific plate moved beneath the North American plate
7

During the Mexico City quake those buildings between 6 and 16 stories tall were damaged due to all of the following except ___________________.
A)the buildings had similar frequencies as the dominant seismic waves
B)the soft ground in the area resonated with the 1- to 2-second seismic waves and amplified the wave energy
C)poor building design
D)tsunami
E)closely-spaced buildings
8

Which of the following building scenarios would be most resistant to damage from seismic shaking during the Mexico City earthquake?
A)1-story brick building built on solid rock
B)10-story brick building built on solid rock
C)6-story steel-framed building built on soft sediment
D)15-story steel-framed building built on soft sediment
E)1-story brick building built on soft sediment
9

Evidence that the Washington-Oregon coastline has been struck by large earthquakes in the past is ____________________.
A)drowned forests and tsunami records along the Pacific Rim
B)cracks in the earth
C)frequent and large earthquakes
D)collapsed buildings
E)ancient volcanic eruptions
10

The spreading zone near the Salton Sea is struck by numerous earthquakes of magnitudes less than five. These relatively small earthquakes are mostly caused by _________________.
A)movement along thrust faults
B)moving magma
C)normal faults associated with the splitting and rifting of continental rocks
D)answers A and B
E)answers B and C
11

The greatest amount of damage associated with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake was related to ______________________.
A)fires
B)the collapse of buildings
C)ground subsidence
D)tsunami
E)landslides
12

Examine figure 5.13. Note the bend or kink in the San Andreas fault in the area of the Transverse Ranges. Why do you suppose there are a series of hills and mountains in this zone?
A)Extension at the kink.
B)Compression at the kink.
C)Left-lateral strike slip faulting in this zone.
D)Dip-slip faults in this zone.
E)Volcanic activity in this zone.
13

Which of the following features is indicative of a section of a fault zone that is less likely to experience a large and catastrophic earth movement?
A)offset sidewalks
B)cracked buildings due to movement
C)numerous earthquakes of magnitude 4 or less
D)bent fences
E)all of the above
14

A "locked" zone of a fault system will release its stored energy by ______________________.
A)small and infrequent earthquakes
B)frequent and small earthquakes
C)infrequent but large earthquakes
D)frequent and large earthquakes
E)melting rocks
15

The dominant types of faults that occur in the compressive, left-stepping bend of the San Andreas fault zone shown in Figure 5.23 are ___________________.
A)strike-slip faults only
B)strike-slip and reverse faults
C)strike-slip and normal faults
D)normal faults and thrust faults
E)normal faults only
16

When soft sediment or loose material is shaken violently, as occurred in the Marina District of San Francisco during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, a common response of the earth is ______________________.
A)amplification of long-period surface waves
B)ground subsidence and slumping
C)liquefaction
D)flooding in areas near the coast
E)all of the above
17

The stresses built up along fault zones are released by _____________________.
A)overcoming the frictional resistance of movement
B)rupturing of rocks in the fault zone
C)"rebound" of rocks as they move into position of lower energy
D)answers A, B, C
E)answers A and C
18

Data from the 1992 Landers fault indicate that faults ___________________.
A)release all of their stored energy in a single event
B)release energy in numerous seismic pulses
C)can move and cause earthquakes that trigger more seismic events
D)can release energy by transferring energy to adjacent faults
E)all of the above except A
19

The "Big One" in Southern California is envisaged to be
A)A magnitude 8+ earthquake rupturing most or all of the southern San Andreas fault, possibly accompanied by thrusting along one of the east-west oriented faults within or just north of Los Angeles.
B)Rupturing of the Newport-Inglewood fault, a long strike-slip fault running through the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
C)A giant earthquake causing southern California to break off the continent and sink into the Pacific Ocean.
D)Simultaneous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions occurring all over southern California.
20

The 1994 Northridge earthquake in southern California
A)occurred on the San Andreas fault.
B)occurred on a normal fault within the Los Angeles area.
C)was triggered by the Big Bear earthquake and occurred on the Johnson Valley fault, a strike-slip fault north of the San Andreas fault.
D)occurred on a blind thrust fault north of downtown Los Angeles.
21

A reliable method of short-term earthquake prediction is
A)extrapolation from the pattern of historical seismicity.
B)extrapolation from the pattern of seismicity determined from paleoseismological studies.
C)extrapolation from the progression of successive large earthquakes from one end of a fault towards the other.
D)to use the prophesies of Nostradamus.
E)answers A, B, C.
F)none of answers A, B, C, D.







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