The California earthquake of April 18, 1906, ranks as one of the most significant earthquakes of all time. Your task is to follow this E-Sheet on a tour of this famous event.

Go to the “What do you already know?” section of your Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake Response Journal and list any facts you already know about this quake.

Next, go to the Introduction for The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake site. Once you've read the first page, answer the next two questions on your Response Journal.

Check with your teacher before continuing.

Spend 20 minutes exploring the following links on The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake site. Jot down notes of interest as well as answers to the questions in your response journal, paying particular attention to details that you find interesting.

• How Big Was the Earthquake?
  
• 1906 Seismogram
  
• Casualties and Damage
  
• When Will It Happen Again?
  
• 1906 Earthquake Photos
  
• Eyewitness Accounts
  

Check with your teacher before continuing.

Recording Earthquakes
In this part of the lesson, you will record earthquake activity over a two-week period using your Earthquake Recording Sheet. Record only those quakes that are a 4.0 magnitude or higher. To get the information about earthquake activity, go to the Latest Earthquakes in the World—Past 7 days site.

Once you have recorded the information on the sheet, use the longitude and latitude coordinates to plot the quakes on a world map provided by your teacher. When you plot the quakes, you should use this color code:

Color Code Individual Maps
4.0 - 4.9 Yellow
5.0 - 5.9 Blue
6.0 - 6.9 Green
7.0 - 7.9 Red
< 8.0 Black

Check with your teacher before continuing.

Understanding Plate Motions
Now you will look at definitions of plate boundaries.

Go to Understanding plate motions to read definitions and explanations of plate boundaries. Also look at the Main Types of Plate Boundaries image. Use these definitions and image to help you complete the Plate Boundary Flipbook.