Seismic creep is the constant or periodic movement on a fault as contrasted with the sudden rupture associated with an earthquake. It is a usually slow deformation of rock resulting from constant stress being applied over a period of time. Sometimes aseismic slip is observed at the ground surface along a ruptured fault that has produced a substantial earthquake. Examples are from the Hollister and Hayward, California, region. Several of the slides are split images of a location, comparing fault movement over the years.

The Significant Earthquake Database is a global listing of over 5,700 earthquakes from 2150 BC to the present. A significant earthquake is classified as one that meets at least one of the following criteria: caused deaths, caused moderate damage (approximately $1 million or more), magnitude 7.5 or greater, Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) X or greater, or the earthquake generated a tsunami. The database provides information on the date and time of occurrence, latitude and longitude, focal depth, magnitude, maximum MMI intensity, and socio-economic data such as the total number of casualties, injuries, houses destroyed, and houses damaged, and $ dollage damage estimates. References, political geography, and additional comments are also provided for each earthquake. If the earthquake was associated with a tsunami or volcanic eruption, it is flagged and linked to the related tsunami event or significant volcanic eruption.

The hydrologic system, which includes all possible paths of motion of Earth's near-surface fluids including air and water, is largely responsible for the variety of landforms found on the continents. Heat from the sun evaporates water from oceans, lakes, and streams. Although most of the water returns directly as precipitation to the oceans, some of the water is recipitated over land as rain or snow. If it is precipitated over land, it then begins its journey back to the sea as "runoff." The relentless action of surface runoff, streams, and rivers, glaciers, and waves sculpts the rock into intriguing and bizarre shapes. This set of slides includes examples of wave erosion, wind and water erosion, valley shapes, and glacial rosion. The views are often dramatic. Many were taken at U.S. National Parks and Monuments.

Discover where, when and how severely tsunamis affected Earth in geologic history. Information regarding Tsunami Deposits and Proxies for Tsunami Events complements the historical records currently available through the Global Tsunami Database.

Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning harbor wave. It is a water wave or a series of waves generated by an impulsive vertical displacement of the surface of the ocean or other body of water. This slide set depicts advancing waves, harbor damage, and structural damage from seven tsunami events which have occurred since 1946 in the Pacific region. The set includes before-and-after views of Scotch Cap Lighthouse (the Aleutian Islands).Tsunami is a Japanese word meaning "harbor wave." It is a water wave or a series of waves generated by an impulsive vertical displacement of the surface of the ocean or other body of water. Tsunamis are commonly called seismic sea waves or incorrectly, tidal waves. The term "tidal wave" is frequently used in the older literature and in popular accounts, but is now considered incorrect. Tides are produced by the rotational attraction of the sun and moon and occur predictably, with twelve hour periods. The effects of a tsunami may be increased or decreased depending on the level of the tide, but otherwise the two phenomena are independent.Major tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean region only about once per decade. These major events, such as that in Prince William Sound, Alaska, in March 1964, and the tsunami generated off the coast of Chile in 1960, have been devastating over large distances. Tsunamis have been responsible for thousands of fatalities, especially in Japan and Indonesia.Most tsunamis are caused by a rapid vertical movement along a break in Earth's crust (i.e., their origin is tectonic). A tsunami is generated when a large mass of earth on the bottom of the ocean drops or rises, thereby displacing the column of water directly above it. This type of displacement commonly occurs in large subduction zones, where the collision of two tectonic plates causes the oceanic plate to dip beneath the continental plate to form deep ocean trenches. Shallow tsunamigenic earthquakes occur offshore in these trenches. Subduction occurs along most of the island arcs and coastal areas of the Pacific, except for the west coast of the United States and Canada. Such trench areas off continental coasts and island arcs are generating areas for major tsunamis affecting the entire Pacific Basin.Volcanic eruptions have also generated significant tsunamis, resulting in death tolls as high as 30,000 people from a single event, as in the Krakatoa eruption of 1883. Tsunamis effectively transmit energy to areas outside the reach of the volcanic eruption itself. The most efficient methods of tsunami generation by volcanoes include disruption of a body of water by the collapse of all or part of the volcanic edifice, subsidence, an explosion, a landslide, a glowing avalanche, and an earthquake accompanying or preceding the eruption. Roughly one-half of all volcanic tsunamis are generated at calderas or at cones within calderas. Submarine eruptions may also cause minor tsunamis.The largest tsunamis are caused by meteorite impact in ocean basins. While there have been none recorded in historical times, tsunamis from the Chixulub, Yucatan, crater (66 million years b.p.) were up to 5 km high. Tsunami deposits have been found in west Texas nearly 1,000 kilometers inland. Modelling shows that a moderate size meteor impact in the Atlantic Ocean would have devastating results along the entire Atlantic seaboard of the United States. Such impacts are expected on an average of once in about 15,000 years.Subaerial and submarine landslides into bays or lakes have generated locally destructive tsunamis. Other possible but less efficient methods of tsunami generation also exist. More than one mechanism commonly is involved in the generation of a tsunami including vertical movement of the crust by a seismic impulse (an earthquake) or a submarine landslide.Tsunamis have been reported since ancient times. They have been documented extensively, especially in Japan and the Mediterranean areas. One of the first recorded tsunamis may have

The Seismicity Catalog Collection is a compilation data on over four million earthquakes dating from 2150 BC to 1996 AD from NOAA's National Geophysical Data Center and U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center. The data include information on epicentral time of origin, location, magnitudes, depth and other earthquake-related parameters. This database is static and is no longer being updated.

At 4:31 am local time (12:31 GMT) on Monday, January 17, 1994, a magnitude 6.8 earthquake twenty miles west northwest of downtown Los Angeles awoke nearly everyone in southern California. Damage was most extensive in the San Fernando Valley, the Simi Valley, and in the northern part of the Los Angeles Basin. It took 57 lives and caused $10 billion in property damage. This set depicts the damage in Northridge the epicentral area.

The slopes above streams and rivers are subjected to a variety of processes that cause them to recede and retreat from the river or stream channel. These processes, collectively called mass wasting, can be classified according to rapidity of movement and according to the type of materials that are transported.

The United States Earthquake Intensity Database is a collection of damage and felt reports for over 23,000 U.S. earthquakes from 1638-1985. The majority of intensities are for U.S. cities, but there are also a few earthquakes and intensities for Panama (1925-1975), the Philippines (1926-1937), and Mexico (1887-1981). The data were compiled from various publications, newspaper reports, and special catalogs. The annual serial "United States Earthquakes," is the principal data source and provides 90 percent of the observations. Most records in the file contain the date and time of occurrence and location of the earthquake, magnitude, focal depth, two-digit state code, name and coordinates of observing city or town, the observed intensity at each town, and the distance from city (or locality) to epicenter. The file consists of more than 150,000 earthquake intensity observations. The data file serves as an important information source for the preparation of intensity histories that are useful for environmental and hazard impact statements. The file is static and is no longer being updated.

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the largest event (magnitude 8.3) to occur in the conterminous United States in the 20th Century. Recent estimates indicate that as many as 3,000 people lost their lives in the earthquake and ensuing fire. In terms of 1906 dollars, the total property damage amounted to about $24 million from the earthquake and $350 million from the fire. The fire destroyed 28,000 buildings in a 520-block area of San Francisco.