This comprehensive A-to-Z resource explains the specific terms, concepts, people, and organizations associated with the sciences of catastrophe --seismology and volcanology --and covers the places in the world where these destructive phenomena have occurred, as well as key environmental issues, economic dilemmas, ethical concerns, and current advances in research and technology.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• A
• accelerogram
• accelerograph
• active fault
• active volcano
• Adana earthquake
• Adatara
• Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS)
• aftershocks
• Agadir earthquake
• agglomerate
• Agnano
• Agua de Pau
• Agung
• Aira
• Akan
• Akutan
• Alban Hills
• Alcedo
• Aleppo 2 earthquake
• Alexandria earthquake
• Algiers earthquake
• Alkalic basalt
• Allahbund
• Amatitlán
• Ambrim
• Amukta
• amygdaloidal
• Anatolia earthquake
• Anatolia earthquake
• Ancash earthquake
• Andalusia earthquake
• Andaman Islands earthquake
• Andijan earthquake
• Aniakchak
• Ansei Tokai earthquake
• Antioch earthquake
• Aoba
• Apache tears
• aphanitic
• Apoyo
• applied seismology
• Arenal
• Arica earthquake and tsunamis
• Armenia earthquake
• Armenia earthquake
• Arunachal Pradesh earthquake
• Asamayama
• Asawa
• Ascension Island
• aseismic
• ashfall
• ashfall tuff
• ash-flow eruption
• ash-flow tuff
• Ashgabat earthquake
• Askja
• Aso
• asperity
• Assam earthquake
• Ata
• Atitlán
• Atlantis
• Augustine
• auxiliary fault plane
• Avezzano earthquake
• aviation and volcanoes
• B
• backarc
• Baitoushan
• Bam earthquake
• Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunamis
• Banda Api
• Bandai-San eruption
• Bandelier Tuff
• Bantul earthquake
• Barcena
• Bardarbunga
• barranco
• Barren Island
• The Barrier
• barrier (fault)
• basal wreck
• base isolation
• Basel earthquake
• Batur
• Bayonnaise
• Bekaa Valley earthquake
• Bengkulu earthquake
• Bezymianny
• Bhuj earthquake
• Bihar earthquake
• Birjand-Qã-yen earthquake
• Bishop Tuff
• blind fault
• block
• body wave magnitude
• Bogoslof
• Bolu-Duzce earthquake
• Bonneville Slide
• Boquerón
• bradyseism
• branching fault
• bread-crust bomb
• brittle-ductile boundary
• brittleness (geology)
• Bucharest earthquake
• Bulusan
• Buyin-Zahra earthquake
• b-value
• C
• Cairo earthquake
• Calaveras Fault
• Calbuco
• Calcutta earthquake
• caldera
• caldera complex
• Campania earthquake
• Campo Bianco
• capable fault
• Cape Ann
• Cape Verde Islands
• Cap-Haitien earthquake
• capillarity (volcanoes)
• Caracas earthquake
• Cascadia earthquake and tsunami
• Cascadia Subduction Zone
• cataclasite
• Catania
• Catania earthquake
• cauldron
• Cecchi seismoscope
• Cerro Azul
• Cerro Negro
• Cerro Rico
• Cha
• Chang Heng seismoscope
• Chaos Craigs
• Charleston earthquake
• Chiginagak
• Chihli earthquake
• Chilean earthquake
• Chillán earthquake
• Chios earthquake
• Chirpoi
• Christchurch earthquake
• Cinder Cone
• Cinque Dente
• Clarion Fracture Zone
• clinker (Earth science)
• clinopyroxene
• Coast Mountains
• Coatepeque
• Cocos crustal plate
• coda
• Colima
• Colombian earthquake
• Colorado Plateau
• Columbia Plateau
• columnar joints
• Comoro Islands
• compressional stress
• Concepción
• conduit
• cone-in-cone structure
• contact metamorphism
• continent
• continental crust
• continuous deformation
• converted wave
• Copahué
• Cordillera Nevada
• Cos earthquake
• Cotopaxi
• coulee
• cow-pie bomb
• Craters of the Moon Monument
• Creede
• Crescent City tsunami
• Crystal Ice Cave
• crystalline (Earth science)
• crystallization (geology)
• Cucuta earthquake
• Cumbre Vieja
• D
• dacite
• Daisetsu-Tokachi
• Dakataua
• Damghan earthquake
• Dasht-e Bayaz earthquake
• dead fault
• Death Valley
• Debal earthquake
• debris avalanche
• debris slide
• decade volcanoes
• Deccan Plateau
• Deception Island
• Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis (DART) program
• deep-focus earthquake
• Denali Fault
• Deriba
• destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum
• Devils Tower
• dextral fault
• Dhamar earthquake
• Diamante
• Dieng Plateau
• dilatancy
• Dinar earthquake
• dip-slip fault
• directivity (geology)
• ductile deformation
• Dukono
• Dvin earthquake
• E
• earthquake frequency
• earthquake hazard
• earthquake intensity
• earthquake light
• earthquake reduction technologies
• earthquake risk
• earthquake swarm
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Alaska
• earthquakes and volcanoes in California
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Central America
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Chile
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Colombia
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Europe
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Japan
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Nicaragua
• earthquakes and volcanoes in North America
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Russia
• earthquakes and volcanoes in the Aleutian Islands
• earthquakes and volcanoes in the Basin and Range Province
• earthquakes and volcanoes in the United States
• earthquakes and volcanoes in Washington
• earthquakes in Los Angeles
• earthquakes in San Francisco
• earthquakes in Tabriz
• earthquakes in the Bible
• earthquakes, volcanoes, and the Earth's crust
• East Pacific Rise
• Edo earthquake and tsunamis
• Egon
• El Asnam earthquake
• El Chichón
• elastic strain
• embryonic volcano
• Emmons Lake
• Emperor Seamounts
• emplacement
• erosion caldera
• eruption
• eruption cycle
• Erzincan earthquake
• explosive eruption
• extinct volcano
• extrusion tectonics
• Eyjafjallajökull volcano
• F
• Falcon Island
• Fantale
• Farallon crustal plate
• fault
• fault creep
• fault plane solution
• fault rocks
• fault trace
• felsic
• Fernandina
• ferromagnesian
• fiamme
• first arrival
• first motion
• Fisher
• fissure eruption
• flank eruption
• foreshock
• Fort Tejon earthquake
• fractional fusion
• Friuli earthquake
• Fuego
• Fukui earthquakes
• fumarole
• Furnas
• G
• Galeras volcano
• Galilee earthquake
• Galunggung
• Gamalama
• Gansu earthquake
• Gaua Island
• Geger Halang
• Gemini Seamount
• generation and rise of magma
• geology
• geophysical monitoring
• geothermal energy
• Gilan earthquake
• Good Friday earthquake
• Gorely Khrebet
• Grand Banks earthquake
• Grand Coulee
• granitization
• Great Rift
• Great Rift Valley
• Grimsvötn
• ground failure
• Guagua Pichincha
• H
• Haicheng earthquake
• Hakkoda
• Hakone
• Harem-Armanaz earthquake
• harmonic tremor
• Haroharo
• Hayward Fault
• Hebgen Lake earthquake
• Hector Mine earthquake
• Heimaey eruption
• Hekla
• Herdubreid
• Hibok-hibok
• holohaline
• Hooke's law (seismology)
• hornito
• horse (geology)
• horst
• hot, dry rock
• Huaraz earthquake
• Huascarán avalanche
• hydrothermal activity
• hypocenter
• I
• Idaho Batholith
• igneous breccia
• igneous complex
• igneous rocks
• ignimbrite
• Ijen
• Iliamna
• Ilopango
• impact of volcanic eruptions on climate
• impact structure
• Imperial Valley earthquake
• incandescent
• Indo-Australian crustal plate
• injection (geology)
• intensity of recent earthquakes
• intermediate rock
• interplate coupling
• interstice
• intraplate
• intrusion
• Irazu
• Irian Jaya earthquake
• Ischia
• isoseismal map
• Iturup earthquake
• Iwo Jima
• Izalco
• Izmit earthquake
• Izu Peninsula
• Izu-óshima
• J
• Jawa
• Jerusalem earthquake
• jökulhlaup
• Jorullo
• Juan de Fuca crustal plate
• K
• Kakuto
• Kamchatka Peninsula
• Kangra earthquake
• Kanto earthquake
• Karkar
• Karymsky
• Kashmir earthquake
• Katla
• Kelud
• Kemin earthquake
• Kerinici
• Kern County earthquake
• K-feldspar
• Khait earthquake
• Kikai
• Kilauea
• Killari earthquake
• Kirishima
• Kliuchevskoi
• Kobe earthquake
• Komaga-take
• K’one
• Koryaksky
• Kotlugja eruption
• Krafla
• Krakatau
• Krasheninnikov
• Kronotsky
• Kuril Islands
• Kuril Lake
• Kusatsu-Shirane
• Kutcharo
• Kverkfjöll
• Kwangtung earthquake
• K-wave
• L
• Lake Missoula
• Laki eruption
• Land of the Giant Craters
• landslide hazard reduction
• Laodicia earthquake
• lapilli
• L’Aquila earthquake
• Larderello
• Las Cañadas
• Lassen Peak
• lateral blast
• lateral spread and flow
• latite
• lava
• lava dome
• lava field
• lava tube
• left-lateral fault
• Lehmann discontinuity
• Lipari Islands
• liquefaction
• Lisbon earthquake
• lithology
• Little Sitkin
• littoral cone
• Lituya Bay tsunami
• Liwa earthquake
• local magnitude
• locked fault
• Loihi Seamount
• Lokon
• Loma Prieta earthquake
• Long Island
• Long Valley caldera
• long-period wave
• Love wave
• low velocity zone
• Luzon earthquake
• M
• maar
• Macdonald Seamount
• mafic
• magmatic arc
• magnitude (seismology)
• main shock
• major earthquake
• Makian
• Makran coast earthquake and tsunami
• Malazgirt earthquake
• Mammoth Hot Springs
• Managua earthquake
• Manam
• Maninjau
• Masaya
• Mascara earthquake
• Matsushiro
• Maule earthquake
• Mauna Kea
• Mauna Loa
• Mayon
• Mazama
• Mazar-e Sharif earthquake
• McDonald Island
• Medicine Lake Volcano
• medium-rate ridge
• Medvezhii
• megathrust
• megatsunami
• meizoseismal region
• Mendeleev
• Merapi
• Mesa de los Hornitos
• Messina earthquake
• Metis Shoal
• Mexico City earthquake
• microearthquake
• microzonation
• Mino-Owari earthquake
• moment magnitude
• Momotombo
• Mono Lake
• Monowai Seamount
• Montenegro earthquake
• Montserrat
• Moro Gulf earthquake and tsunami
• Motagua Fault
• Mount Baker
• Mount Cameroon
• Mount Erebus
• Mount Etna
• Mount Fuji
• Mount Garibaldi
• Mount Hood
• Mount Karangetang
• Mount Katmai
• Mount Kilimanjaro
• Mount Lamington
• Mount Pelée
• Mount Pinatubo
• Mount Rainier
• Mount Saint Helens
• Mount Shasta
• Mount Trident
• Mount Unzen
• mud volcano
• Muradiye earthquake
• Muzaffarabad earthquake
• Myozin-Syo
• N
• Nanao earthquake
• Napier earthquake
• Nasu
• natural frequency (seismology)
• neotectonics
• Nepal earthquake
• Nevado del Ruiz
• Nevados de Chilian
• Nevados Huascarán earthquake
• New Madrid Fault Zone
• Newport-Inglewood Fault Zone
• Ngaurahoe
• Ngorongoro
• Niigata earthquake
• Niuafo’ou Island
• North Pagan
• Northridge earthquake
• nuée ardente
• Nyamuragira
• Nyiragongo
• Nyos toxic gas eruption
• Nysiros
• O
• obsidian
• offset (seismology)
• Okmok
• Okushiri earthquake and tsunami
• Old Faithful
• Olympus Mons
• Onikobe
• On-Take
• Opala
• Oran earthquake
• origin time
• Örœfajökull
• Osaka earthquakes
• Owens Valley earthquake
• P
• Pacaya
• Pacific Tsunami Warning System (PTWS)
• Padang earthquake
• Pagan
• paleoseismicity
• paleovolcanic
• palisade
• Papandayan
• Paphlu earthquake
• parasitic cone
• parental magma
• Paricutín
• Patan earthquake
• Pavlof
• Pele's tears
• Pelileo earthquake
• period oscillations
• Permian extinction
• phaneritic
• Phlegraean Fields
• phreatic eruption
• Piton de la Fournaise
• plagioclase
• plate tectonics
• Plinian eruption
• plug (geology)
• pluton
• Poás
• Popocatépetl
• porphyritic
• Port Royal earthquake
• Port-au-Prince earthquake
• precursor (seismology)
• predicting earthquakes
• predicting volcanic eruptions
• pressure ridge
• primary effects
• Puracé
• Puu Oo
• pyrometamorphism
• Q
• Quchan earthquake
• Quetta earthquake
• Quito earthquake
• R
• Rabaul
• Ranau
• Rasshua
• Rayleigh waves
• Raymond Fault
• Redoubt
• reflected wave
• refracted wave
• Reventador
• reverse fault
• Rhodos earthquake
• right-lateral fault
• Rincón de la Vieja
• ring dikes
• Ring of Fire
• Rio Grande Rift
• Riviera earthquake
• Roccamonfina
• rock avalanche
• rockfall
• rockslide
• Rodinia
• role of water in seismic and volcanic activity
• Rostaq earthquake
• Rotorua
• Ruapehu
• Ruby Seamount
• rupture
• rupture front
• S
• sag
• sag pond
• Saint Lawrence Valley
• Sakhalin earthquake
• Sakurajima
• San Cristobal
• San Fernando earthquake
• San Jacinto Fault Zone
• sand boil
• Sangay
• Sanriku earthquake and tsunami
• Santa María
• Santorini
• scoria
• secular changes (seismology)
• Segara Anak
• segmentation (geology)
• seismic moment
• seismic tomography
• seismic velocity
• seismogram
• seismology
• Semeru
• Semisopochnoi
• Serravalle di Chienti earthquake
• Sete Cidades
• Shaanxi earthquake
• shadow zone
• ShakeMap
• shallow-focus
• Shemakha earthquake
• Sheveluch
• shield volcano
• Shikotsu
• Ship Rock
• Shiraz earthquake
• Shishaldin
• Sichuan earthquake
• Sierra Negra
• Sierra Nevada
• Sinano earthquake
• Sissano earthquake
• Skaptarjökull
• Skopje earthquakes
• slip model
• Snake River Plain
• societal response to disasters
• Socorro
• soil amplification
• solfatara
• Sonoran earthquake
• Soufrière 1
• Soufrière 2
• Soufrière Hills
• South Sandwich Islands
• Sparta earthquake
• spatter cone
• spectral acceleration
• spectrum (seismology)
• splay
• Srinagar earthquake
• stick-slip
• stock (geology)
• strain rate
• stratovolcano
• stress drop
• strike-slip fault
• Stromboli
• sturzstrom
• submarine earthquake
• submarine eruption
• Sukaria
• summit eruption
• Sunda
• Suoh depression
• supervolcano
• surface faulting
• Surtsey
• T
• Taal
• Tabas earthquake
• table mountain
• Tai-Ching earthquake
• talus
• Tambora eruption
• Tanaga
• Tancheng earthquake
• Tango earthquake
• Tangshan earthquake
• Tao-Rusyr
• Tarawera
• Tarumai
• Taupo
• Taupo Fault Zone
• tectonics
• teleseismic
• teletsunami
• Tengger
• thermal gradient
• Thira
• tholeiite
• Three Rivers earthquake
• Three Sisters
• tidal wave
• Tien-Chi
• Toba
• Tofua
• Tohoku earthquake
• Tokachi
• Tokaido earthquake and tsunami
• Tolbachik
• Toledo
• Tondano
• Tongariro
• Tonghai earthquake
• topographic monitoring
• Torfajökull
• Toribio earthquake
• Towada
• Toya
• T-phase
• trajectory (seismology)
• transition zone (Earth science)
• Transverse Ranges
• triple junction
• Tristan de Cunha
• tsunami
• tsunami run-up
• tsunamigenic
• Tungurahua
• tuya
• U
• ultramafic
• V
• Vaiont Dam
• Valles
• Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
• Van earthquake
• Vayoc Jor earthquake
• velocity structure
• Veniaminof
• Vestmann Islands
• Vesuvius
• Villarrica
• vog
• volcanic activity in Hawaii
• volcanic ash
• volcanic cone
• volcanic crater
• volcanic dome
• volcanic dust
• Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)
• volcanic hazards
• volcanic ice cap
• volcanic rock
• volcanism
• volcano
• volcano geotourism
• volcanoes in the Canary Islands
• volcanoes on Io
• volcanologist
• Vrancea earthquake
• Vulcanian-type eruption
• Vulcano
• Vulsini
• W
• Wasatch Mountains
• Watchung Mountains
• welded tuff
• Westdahl
• Whakatane Fault
• White Island
• White Mountains
• White Terrace
• Witori
• Wizard Island
• Wolf
• Wrangell Mountains
• wrench fault
• X
• Xichang earthquake
• Xingtai earthquakes
• Xining earthquake
• Y
• Yake-dake
• Yangjiang earthquake
• “year without a summer”
• Yellowstone National Park
• Yogyakarta earthquake
• Further Resources
• Internet Resources