2. Earthquakes are caused by when Earth’s rocks surface shift quickly. Some scientists think that earthquakes are caused by slow movements inside the earth that push against the thin outer layer of the earth causing it to break.

3. Then the earth releases all of the stress that was building up in the rocks for a long time. Its very destructive. It causes the ground to shake violently and the ground split. When there is an earthquake you should get under a table to avoid falling objects.

4. Earth’s crust is made up of many pieces called plates. Earthquakes most commonly happen around oceanic and continental plates. Oceanic plates are in the ocean and continental are on land. The plates are moved around by a motion under the earth (in the mantle). It usually causes earthquakes.

5. Valdivia, Chile – May 22, 1960 This earthquake was the largest earthquake magnitude wise. The magnitude was 9.5. The earthquake killed 1655 people, injured 3000 people, and made two million people go missing. It caused $550 million in U.S. money. The rupture was 1000km long. The earthquake caused a tsunami that killed many people and caused damaged as far away as Hawaii, Japan, and the Philippines. Two days after the quake, a nearby volcano erupted, sending 6km of ash and steam in the air for several weeks.

6. Prince William Sound, Alaska – March 28, 1964 It was the second largest earthquake magnitude wise. The magnitude was 9.1. Compared to the earthquake in Chile, there was a lot less damage. It killed 128 people and caused $133 million of U.S. money. The quake was mostly in Alaska but it damaged a little bit of Canada. The tsunami it created damaged as far away as Hawaii. The city of Anchorage had the most damage. The shaking from the earthquake lasted three minutes.

7. http://videos.howstuffworks.com/howstuffworks/236-how-earthquakes-work-video.htm Here is a video about how earthquakes work. The man in the video will guide you. 

8. http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/journal/the-10-biggest-earthquakes-in-recorded- history.htm http://www.geo.mtu.edu/UPSeis/where.html http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Glossary/Seismicity/what_causes_earthquakes.html http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/earthquake- profile/