This Quiz prepared by Leslie J. Sonder, Dartmouth College.
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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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. |
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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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