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Home / IAS Preparation / Classification of Earthquakes

Classification of Earthquakes: Tectonic, Volcanic, Explosion, Collapse

Last Updated on Apr 05, 2025
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Let’s start with a basic understanding of earthquakes. The outermost layer of the earth is fragmented, it is not in one piece, where each of this fragmented piece is called a plate. These plates are in continual motion. Earthquakes are caused when these plates move and a tremor is generated by the disturbance deep down inside. This results in the uppermost layer of the earth, called the crust, being moved violently.

 

When these plates brush through one another or a plate goes under another due to collision, they cause disturbance in the earth’s crust. It is this disturbance that shows up as an earthquake on the surface of the earth.

Through this article, let’s understand the different types of earthquakes, the reason behind their occurrence and effects of these earthquakes.

Know more about Types of Earthquake Waves here.

Classification Of Earthquake

There are four types of earthquakes:

Tectonic Earthquakes

They are the most popular earthquakes observed all over the world, these are generated due to the sliding of Rocks along a fault plane.

It is generated by the movement of plates when energy accumulated within plate boundary zones is discharged. Tectonic earthquakes are normally larger than volcanic earthquakes.

Volcanic Earthquakes

An exceptional class of tectonic earthquakes is sometimes recognized as a volcanic earthquake. However, these are restricted to areas of active volcanoes.

Volcanic earthquakes possess different characteristics due to the deep and tectonic seismic events that occur along great faults. They are considerably less devastating and may continue at a detectable level for weeks or months before the eruption.

It is generated by the abrupt opening of channels in crustal rocks, excessive accumulation of gas pressure in the crust, rapid changes of motion of magma, roof collapses of subterranean channels emptied of magma.

Collapse Earthquakes

In the areas of intense mining activity, sometimes the roofs of underground mines collapse generating minor tremors. These are termed collapse earthquakes. They are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines that are caused by seismic waves produced from the explosion of rock on the surface.

This happens when the induced stress around the mine working because large masses of rock fly off the mine face explosively, producing seismic waves. Collapse earthquakes are also produced by massive land sliding.

Explosion Earthquakes

Ground shaking may also happen due to the explosion of chemical or nuclear devices. Such tremors are called explosion earthquakes.

Some underground nuclear explosions fired since the 1950s have produced substantial earthquakes. When a nuclear device is detonated in a borehole underground, enormous nuclear energy is released.

 

Effects Of Earthquakes

Shaking and Ground Rupture

  • These are the foremost outcomes generated by earthquakes, mainly resulting in more/less severe loss to structures and other rigid constructions.
  • The severity of the local outcomes depends on the range from the epicenter, the complex union of the earthquake magnitude, and the regional geological and geomorphological conditions, which may magnify or lessen the wave propagation.
  • The ground-shaking is measured by ground acceleration and the Ground rupture is a visible breaking and displacement of the Earth’s surface along the trace of the fault, which may be of the order of several meters in the case of extreme earthquakes.
  • Ground separation is a major risk for large engineering constructions such as bridges, dams, and nuclear power stations and requires precise mapping of existing errors.

Learn about Earthquakes here.

Soil Liquefaction

Soil liquefaction occurs when water-saturated granular material (such as sand) temporarily loses its strength and transforms from a solid to a liquid because of the shaking. Soil liquefaction may cause tilt or sink into the liquefied deposits of rigid structures, like buildings and bridges, etc.

Human Impact

An earthquake may lead to injury and loss of life, general property damage, road and bridge damage, and collapse or destabilization of buildings. The consequence may bring disease, depression to survivors, mental consequences such as panic attacks, lack of necessities, and higher insurance premiums.

Landslides

Earthquakes can generate slope instability driving to landslides, a major geological hazard.

Fires

Earthquakes can also lead to fires by destroying electrical power or gas lines. In the event of water mains rupturing and a loss of pressure, it may also become challenging to stop the spread of a fire once it has begun.

 

Tsunami

Tsunamis are long-wavelength, long-period sea waves originated by the sudden or abrupt movement of large volumes of water—including when an earthquake occurs at sea.

Floods

Floods can also be secondary impacts of earthquakes if dams are damaged. Earthquakes may cause landslides to dam rivers, which collapse and lead to floods.

Method Of Triangulation To Detect The Center Of The Earthquake

Scientists use a method named triangulation to conclude exactly where the earthquake occurred.

  • It is named triangulation because a triangle has three sides, and it takes three seismographs to find an earthquake.
  • If you draw a circle on a map around three different seismographs where the radius of each is the distance from that station to the earthquake, the intersection of those three circles is the epicenter.
  • Triangulation can be used to locate an earthquake, the seismometers are shown as green dots.
  • The estimated distance from each seismometer to the earthquake is displayed as a circle and the location where all the circles meet is the position of the earthquake epicenter.

Hey there, hope the article is informative and helpful to you; stay tuned to the Testbook app or visit the testbook website for more updates on such similar topics from geography, social science, and numerous such subjects, and can even check the test series available to test your knowledge regarding various exams.

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Classification of Earthquakes FAQs

The different types of earthquakes are tectonic earthquakes, volcanic earthquakes, collapse earthquakes, and explosion earthquakes.

The method used to estimate the exact location of the earthquake is the triangulation method.

Three seismographs are taken to find an earthquake through the triangulation method.

Earthquake is classified into 4 categories.

The shaking and ground rupture, soil liquefaction, human impacts, landslides, tsunami, and floods are some of the effects of the earthquake.
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