The average length of time between earthquakes along a fault is termed the ______.
A) elastic strain
B) S-P time
C) seismic gap
D) recurrence interval

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The recurrence interval refers to the average length of time between earthquakes along a fault. Option A, elastic strain refers to the measure of the amount of energy stored in rocks before an earthquake occurs. Option B, S-P time refers to the time lag between the arrival of the S-wave and P-wave at a seismograph station, which is used to determine the distance of the earthquake source from the station. Option C, seismic gap refers to a section along a fault that has not experienced an earthquake in a long period of time, and is therefore considered to be at high risk of seismic activity.

The Average Length of Time Between Earthquakes Along a Fault