The Earth's crust is made up of tectonic plates, which lock together like the pieces of a puzzle. The tectonic plates float on the molten rock of the Earth's mantle and move around very slowly. The movement of these plates, which ultimately causes movement of the continents, is called continental drift. The areas where these tectonic plates meet are the regions of the world with the most violent natural events, with respect to earthquakes. This boundary zone sometimes forms mountain ranges or faults — cracks in the Earth that release a tremendous amount of energy which then shakes the Earth and causes earthquakes. Earthquakes, therefore, are basically the result of the tectonic plates meeting and sliding together to create friction and vibrations that not only cause rocks to break but remarkable Earth shaking as well.
We need to understand the processes that shape the Earth, because we need to be able to design structures (buildings, schools, bridges) to protect humans against natural events such as earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes. Engineers design sturdy structures (i.e., buildings, schools and bridges) that can withstand earthquakes and detection devices to predict earthquakes. It is important for engineers to design roads, bridges, structures, airports, dams, sewage systems — and the methods to obtain and filter drinking water — with Earth processes in mind.
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