Export your learner materials as an interactive game, a webpage, or FAQ style cheatsheet.
Unsaved Work Found!
It looks like you have unsaved work from a previous session. Would you like to restore it?
Total Categories: 6
The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred on the morning of August 31, 1886.
Answer: False
The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred on the evening of August 31, 1886, at approximately 9:50 p.m. local time, not in the morning.
The earthquake's estimated moment magnitude (Mw) was between 7.5 and 8.0.
Answer: False
The estimated moment magnitude (Mw) for the 1886 Charleston earthquake is reported to be between 6.9 and 7.3, not 7.5 to 8.0.
The epicenter of the 1886 Charleston earthquake was located at 32.9 degrees South latitude and 80.0 degrees East longitude.
Answer: False
The epicenter of the 1886 Charleston earthquake was located at 32.9 degrees North latitude and 80.0 degrees West longitude.
The initial shock of the earthquake in Charleston lasted for approximately 10 seconds.
Answer: False
The initial seismic shock of the 1886 Charleston earthquake persisted for approximately 45 seconds.
The UTC time of the earthquake was September 1, 1886, at 02:51:00.
Answer: True
The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred on August 31, 1886, at approximately 9:50 p.m. local time, which corresponds to September 1, 1886, at 02:51:00 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).
What was the local date and approximate time of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: August 31, 1886, around 9:50 p.m.
The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred on August 31, 1886, at approximately 9:50 p.m. local time.
What was the estimated Mercalli intensity of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: X (Extreme)
The maximum Mercalli intensity assigned to the 1886 Charleston earthquake was X, which signifies Extreme shaking.
Which coordinates represent the epicenter of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: 32.9° N, 80.0° W
The epicenter of the 1886 Charleston earthquake was located at 32.9 degrees North latitude and 80.0 degrees West longitude.
What was the approximate duration of the initial shock of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: 45 seconds
The primary seismic event of the 1886 Charleston earthquake is estimated to have lasted for approximately 45 seconds.
What was the estimated magnitude range of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: 6.9-7.3 Mw
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is estimated to have had a moment magnitude (Mw) ranging from 6.9 to 7.3.
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is classified as an interplate earthquake.
Answer: False
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is classified as an intraplate earthquake, meaning it originated within a tectonic plate rather than at a plate boundary.
Prior to the 1886 event, the region experienced significant and frequent historical earthquake activity.
Answer: False
It is considered unusual because very little to no historical earthquake activity had occurred in this region prior to this event, which is atypical for seismic zones.
The 1886 earthquake is believed to have occurred on faults formed during the formation of the supercontinent Pangaea.
Answer: True
Geological research indicates that the faults responsible for the 1886 Charleston earthquake are remnants from the formation and breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea, suggesting continued activity along these ancient structures.
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is significant as a rare example of an intraplate earthquake.
Answer: False
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is significant as a prime example of an intraplate earthquake, providing valuable data for understanding seismic activity that occurs away from tectonic plate boundaries.
The Summerville Fault was identified as the source of the seismic rupture due to observed offsets.
Answer: True
Research indicates that the offset observed on the railroad track occurred at the location of the Summerville Fault, suggesting this fault was the source of the seismic rupture.
The fault believed responsible for the earthquake trends north-northwest to south-southeast and dips to the west.
Answer: True
Seismicity studies suggest the fault responsible for the earthquake is a north-northeast–south-southwest trending structure that dips to the west at an angle of 40 to 45 degrees.
How is the 1886 Charleston earthquake classified in terms of its origin relative to tectonic plates?
Answer: Intraplate earthquake
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is scientifically classified as an intraplate earthquake, signifying that its seismic origin occurred within the interior of a tectonic plate, distinct from plate boundaries.
What made the seismic activity in the Charleston region unusual prior to the 1886 earthquake?
Answer: Very little to no historical earthquake activity had occurred.
The seismic activity in the Charleston region was considered unusual prior to the 1886 earthquake due to the historical absence of significant seismic events in the area, a characteristic not typically associated with regions prone to such phenomena.
What geological theory is proposed for the cause of the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: Faults formed during the breakup of Pangaea
The proposed geological theory for the cause of the 1886 Charleston earthquake posits that it originated from faults formed during the fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangaea, which continue to be influenced by contemporary tectonic plate movements.
What is the significance of the 1886 Charleston earthquake in seismology?
Answer: It is a prime example of an intraplate earthquake.
In the field of seismology, the 1886 Charleston earthquake holds significance as a quintessential example of an intraplate earthquake, providing crucial data for understanding seismic phenomena occurring within tectonic plates.
What specific geological feature is believed to be associated with the 1886 Charleston earthquake, based on research?
Answer: The Summerville Fault
Based on geological research, particularly the observed offsets on railroad tracks, the Summerville Fault is believed to be the specific geological feature responsible for the seismic rupture during the 1886 Charleston earthquake.
Buildings constructed of wood frame sustained the most prominent damage, accounting for the majority of the total building damage.
Answer: False
Buildings constructed out of brick sustained the most prominent damage, accounting for 81% of the total building damage, not wood frame structures.
Buildings constructed on solid ground were significantly more likely to be damaged than those on made ground.
Answer: False
Buildings constructed on made ground were significantly more likely to be damaged than those on solid ground, particularly wood-frame buildings.
Residential buildings sustained the most damage compared to commercial buildings.
Answer: False
Commercial buildings sustained the most damage compared to residential buildings due to factors like age, top-heavy structure, and brick construction.
The Old White Meeting House near Summerville was completely undamaged by the earthquake.
Answer: False
The Old White Meeting House, located near Summerville, was reduced to ruins by the earthquake.
Soil liquefaction is a phenomenon where solid rock loses its strength and behaves like a liquid.
Answer: False
Soil liquefaction is a process wherein saturated soil loses its inherent strength and behaves as a fluid when subjected to seismic vibrations, not solid rock.
Wood-frame buildings were more susceptible to damage than brick buildings due to their construction.
Answer: False
Brick buildings sustained significantly more damage (81% of total building damage) compared to wood-frame buildings, which suffered less damage.
Approximately 8,000 buildings in Charleston sustained damage, either interior or broken windows.
Answer: True
The seismic event had a pervasive impact on Charleston's built environment, with nearly all of the city's approximately 8,000 structures sustaining either interior damage or broken windows.
Which building material sustained the most damage, accounting for 81% of the total building damage?
Answer: Brick
Brick structures were identified as sustaining the most substantial damage, accounting for 81% of the total building damage attributed to the earthquake.
How did ground conditions affect building damage, particularly for wood-frame structures?
Answer: Wood-frame buildings on made ground were significantly more likely to be damaged.
Building damage, particularly for wood-frame structures, was significantly exacerbated by ground conditions; those constructed on made ground exhibited a substantially higher likelihood of damage compared to structures on solid ground.
Why were commercial buildings generally more severely damaged than residential buildings?
Answer: They were older, had a top-heavy structure, and were often brick.
Commercial buildings generally experienced more severe damage than residential structures, primarily because they tended to be older, possessed a more pronounced top-heavy construction, and were frequently built with brick, all factors contributing to increased seismic vulnerability.
What happened to the Old White Meeting House near Summerville as a result of the earthquake?
Answer: It was reduced to ruins.
The Old White Meeting House, situated near Summerville, was rendered into ruins as a direct consequence of the earthquake's destructive force.
What is soil liquefaction?
Answer: When saturated soil loses strength and behaves like a liquid due to shaking.
Soil liquefaction describes the process by which saturated soil loses its inherent strength and behaves as a fluid when subjected to seismic vibrations, a phenomenon observed during the 1886 Charleston earthquake.
What was the impact of the earthquake on nearly all structures in Charleston?
Answer: Nearly all had interior damage or broken windows.
The seismic event had a pervasive impact on Charleston's built environment, with nearly all of the city's approximately 8,000 structures sustaining either interior damage or broken windows.
What was the estimated number of buildings damaged by the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: Approximately 2,000
An estimated 2,000 buildings sustained damage as a direct result of the 1886 Charleston earthquake.
The earthquake's shock was felt as far north as Boston, Massachusetts, and as far west as Chicago.
Answer: True
The seismic shock from the 1886 Charleston earthquake was perceptible across a broad geographical area, extending as far north as Boston, Massachusetts, and as far west as Chicago and Milwaukee.
The earthquake caused broken dams leading to flooding but did not affect railroad tracks.
Answer: False
The earthquake caused broken dams leading to flooding and also snapped railroad tracks, leading to derailed trains.
Communication wires remained intact and transportation infrastructure was unaffected by the earthquake.
Answer: False
The earthquake severed communication wires and tore apart railroad tracks, significantly impacting transportation and communication infrastructure.
Major damage from the earthquake was confined strictly to Charleston and its immediate vicinity.
Answer: False
Major damage occurred as far away as Tybee Island, Georgia, which is over 60 miles from Charleston, indicating the damage was not confined to the immediate vicinity.
Structural damage was reported in states including central Alabama, central Ohio, and southern Virginia.
Answer: True
Structural damage was reported hundreds of miles from Charleston, including in central Alabama, central Ohio, eastern Kentucky, southern Virginia, and western West Virginia.
The earthquake was so severe that there was speculation the Florida peninsula had detached from North America.
Answer: True
The earthquake's severity led to widespread speculation, including the notion that the Florida peninsula might have broken away from the North American continent.
The earthquake's shock was felt across a vast area, including which of the following locations?
Answer: As far north as Boston and northwest to Chicago
The earthquake's shock was felt across a wide area, reaching as far north as Boston, Massachusetts, and Chicago and Milwaukee to the northwest.
Which of the following was NOT listed as a type of damage caused by the earthquake?
Answer: Tsunami waves along the coast
The documented damages from the earthquake included earth splits, broken dams resulting in flooding, and ground liquefaction; however, tsunami waves along the coast were not identified as a consequence in the provided information.
How did the earthquake impact communication and transportation infrastructure?
Answer: Communication wires were severed, and railroad tracks were torn apart.
The earthquake's impact on infrastructure included the severing of communication wires and the tearing apart of railroad tracks, which effectively isolated affected areas.
Major structural damage was reported as far away as which location?
Answer: Tybee Island, Georgia
The extent of the earthquake's impact was significant, with reports of major structural damage reaching as far as Tybee Island, Georgia, a distance exceeding 60 miles from Charleston.
Which of the following is NOT mentioned as a state where structural damage was reported?
Answer: Western Pennsylvania
While structural damage was documented in several states such as central Alabama, central Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and southern Virginia, western Pennsylvania is not listed among the affected regions in the provided data.
The 1886 Charleston earthquake resulted in approximately 150 fatalities.
Answer: False
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is estimated to have caused approximately 60 fatalities.
The total monetary damage from the earthquake was estimated to be around $192.48 million in 1886 U.S. dollars.
Answer: False
The total monetary damage from the earthquake was estimated to be between $5 million and $6 million in 1886 U.S. dollars, which is equivalent to approximately $192.48 million in 2024 U.S. dollars.
George LaGrange Cook was a scientist who analyzed the earthquake's seismic waves.
Answer: False
George LaGrange Cook was a local photographer who documented the city's damage after the quake, rather than a scientist analyzing seismic waves.
Over 1,000 aftershocks were recorded in the 30 years following the main 1886 earthquake.
Answer: False
Over the 30 years following the main earthquake, a total of 435 aftershocks were recorded, not over 1,000.
Within the first 24 hours, fewer than five aftershocks were felt in Charleston.
Answer: False
During the first 24 hours subsequent to the main earthquake, a minimum of seven distinct aftershocks were registered in Charleston and its environs.
A similar magnitude earthquake today in the same location is estimated to cause around $2 billion in losses.
Answer: False
Projections indicate that an earthquake of the magnitude experienced in 1886, if it were to occur in the present day, would result in economic losses of approximately $20 billion within South Carolina alone.
Roger Bilham and Susan Hough found evidence of a 10-meter uplift along the South Carolina Railroad near Summerville.
Answer: False
Geological investigations by Bilham and Hough revealed evidence of a 1-meter uplift at Summerville along the South Carolina Railroad, not 10 meters.
Researchers proposed a fault rupture length of approximately 10 miles based on damage patterns.
Answer: False
Damage patterns observed in locations such as Summerville and Pinopolis have led researchers to propose that the fault rupture associated with the 1886 earthquake extended approximately 27 kilometers (17 miles), not 10 miles.
George LaGrange Cook's photographs documented the geological fault lines responsible for the earthquake.
Answer: False
The photographic collection assembled by George LaGrange Cook primarily served to document the widespread damage sustained by Charleston and its surrounding vicinities in the wake of the 1886 earthquake, not the fault lines.
What was the approximate number of fatalities caused by the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: Around 60
The 1886 Charleston earthquake is estimated to have caused approximately 60 fatalities.
What was the estimated monetary damage in 2024 U.S. dollars for the 1886 Charleston earthquake?
Answer: $192.48 million
The estimated monetary damage from the 1886 Charleston earthquake, originally assessed between $5 million and $6 million, is approximately $192.48 million when adjusted to 2024 U.S. dollars.
Who documented the damage caused by the earthquake with photographs?
Answer: George LaGrange Cook
The extensive damage resulting from the earthquake was meticulously documented through photographic evidence compiled by the local photographer, George LaGrange Cook.
How many aftershocks were recorded in the 30 years following the main 1886 earthquake?
Answer: Approximately 435
In the 30-year period following the primary seismic event of 1886, a cumulative total of 435 aftershocks were recorded.
How many aftershocks were felt in Charleston within the first 24 hours?
Answer: At least 7
During the first 24 hours subsequent to the main earthquake, a minimum of seven distinct aftershocks were registered in Charleston and its environs.
What is the estimated number of injuries if an earthquake of the 1886 magnitude were to occur today in the same location?
Answer: Approximately 44,000
Projections indicate that an earthquake of the magnitude experienced in 1886, if it were to occur in the present day, would result in an estimated 44,000 injuries.
What specific geological evidence did Bilham and Hough discover related to the earthquake's effects on the railroad?
Answer: A 1-meter uplift and a 4.5-meter right-lateral offset
Geological investigations by Bilham and Hough revealed specific evidence concerning the earthquake's impact on the railroad, including a measured 1-meter uplift along the South Carolina Railroad and photographic documentation of a 4.5-meter right-lateral offset on the track, which helped identify the Summerville Fault.
What did George LaGrange Cook's photographic collection primarily document?
Answer: The damage to Charleston and its surrounding areas.
The photographic collection assembled by George LaGrange Cook primarily served to document the widespread damage sustained by Charleston and its surrounding vicinities in the wake of the 1886 earthquake.
What was the estimated damage in 1886 dollars for the earthquake?
Answer: $5 million - $6 million
The estimated monetary damage attributed to the 1886 Charleston earthquake was in the range of $5 million to $6 million in the currency of that year.
What is the proposed length of the fault rupture based on damage patterns?
Answer: 17 miles (27 km)
Damage patterns observed in locations such as Summerville and Pinopolis have led researchers to propose that the fault rupture associated with the 1886 earthquake extended approximately 27 kilometers (17 miles).
What was the estimated economic loss if an earthquake of the 1886 magnitude were to occur today in the same location?
Answer: $20 billion
Should an earthquake of the magnitude experienced in 1886 occur in the present day, economic losses are projected to reach approximately $20 billion, specifically within South Carolina.
Large earthquakes in Charleston are estimated to occur approximately every 50 to 100 years.
Answer: False
The estimated recurrence interval for significant seismic events in the Charleston region is approximately 500 to 600 years, indicating infrequent occurrences of large earthquakes.
What is the potential long-term seismic activity in the Charleston area suggested by the source?
Answer: Minor activity may be a continuation of aftershocks from 1886.
The source suggests that minor earthquake activity continuing in the area in the early 21st century may represent a continuation of the aftershocks from the 1886 event.
What measure did many building owners take to reinforce their structures after the earthquake?
Answer: Adding earthquake bolts to masonry walls.
In efforts to reinforce their structures and mitigate future damage, numerous building owners implemented the addition of earthquake bolts to masonry walls, a technique that ties opposing wall sections together for enhanced stability.
What is the estimated recurrence interval for large earthquakes in the Charleston region?
Answer: Every 500-600 years
The estimated recurrence interval for significant seismic events in the Charleston region is approximately 500 to 600 years, indicating infrequent occurrences of large earthquakes.