Earthquakes Word Search
A free Earthquakes word search you can play straight in the browser. The 12-word list draws on the terms and ideas of a school subject, hidden across a 15×15 grid in every direction. Drag through the letters to mark a word off.
Words to find: SEISMOLOGY, EPICENTER, FOCUS, MAGNITUDE, RICHTER, AFTERSHOCK, FORESHOCK, FAULT, TECTONIC, PLATE, LITHOSPHERE, ASTHENOSPHERE.
Words run in any of eight directions, backwards included — if one refuses to turn up, try reading the grid right to left.
Earthquakes word list, defined
- SEISMOLOGY /saɪˈmɒlədʒi/ · noun
- The branch of geology concerned with the study of earthquakes and the propagation of seismic waves through the Earth. It also examines the causes, measurement, and effects of earthquakes. Related: earthquake science, seismic studies.
- EPICENTER /ˈɛpɪsɛntər/ · noun
- The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus (hypocenter) of an earthquake. More broadly, the central location or focal point of any significant activity or event. Related: focal point, center, hotspot, hub.
- FOCUS /ˈfoʊkəs/ · noun, verb
- The centre of attention, activity, or interest; also the point at which rays of light or sound converge, or the state of clear adjustment that makes an image sharp. Related: emphasis, centre, spotlight, concentration.
- MAGNITUDE /ˈmæɡnɪtjuːd/ · noun
- The great size or extent of something, especially when considered in relation to other quantities. It can also refer to the importance or significance of an event, issue, or achievement, and in astronomy it denotes the apparent brightness of a celestial object. Related: size, scale, extent, degree.
- RICHTER /ˈrɪktər/ · proper noun
- Richter is the surname of German-American seismologist Charles F. Richter, who devised the logarithmic scale used to express the measured strength of an earthquake. The name also denotes a type of seismograph and gives its name to the Richter scale and Richter magnitude. Related: seismograph.
- AFTERSHOCK /ˈæftərʃɒk/ · noun
- A smaller earthquake that follows a larger one in the same area, caused by the crust adjusting to the effects of the main shock. By extension, a secondary emotional or social reaction that follows an initial shock or upheaval. Related: tremor, temblor, quake, seismic event.
- FORESHOCK /ˈfɔːrʃɒk/ · noun
- A relatively small earthquake that precedes a larger one at or near the same location and is generally regarded as part of the sequence leading up to the main shock. Related: tremor, quake, temblor.
- FAULT /fɔːlt/ · noun (also verb)
- A fault is a responsibility for an error, failure, or wrongdoing; it also refers to a defect or imperfection in something, or in geology, a fracture in the Earth's crust along which rocks have shifted. Related: defect, flaw, shortcoming, blemish.
- TECTONIC /tɛkˈtɒnɪk/ (British); /tɛkˈtɑːnɪk/ (American) · adjective
- Relating to tectonic plates, their movement, or the large-scale forces and structural features of the Earth's crust. By extension, it describes broad, far-reaching changes in a system or landscape. Related: crustal, structural, geodynamic.
- PLATE /pleɪt/ · noun, verb
- A plate is a flat, usually rigid dish or a thin sheet of material, especially metal. As a verb, to plate means to cover a surface with a thin layer of metal, food, or another material. Related: dish, tray, saucer, sheet.
- LITHOSPHERE /ˈlɪθəsˌfɪr/ (US); /ˈlɪθəsˌfɪər/ (UK) · noun
- The rigid outer part of Earth, comprising the crust and the rigid uppermost portion of the mantle. It is divided into tectonic plates that move over the weaker mantle below. Related: lithic crust, crust.
- ASTHENOSPHERE /ˈæsθənəˌsfɪr/ · noun
- The asthenosphere is the mechanically weak, ductile portion of Earth's upper mantle, lying beneath the rigid lithosphere and extending to depths of roughly 100–350 kilometres. It can deform slowly under stress and is involved in plate movement and mantle convection. Related: ductile upper-mantle layer, mechanically weak mantle layer, plastic upper mantle.
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