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1) a theory of earthquakes that envisages gradual deformation of the fault zone without fault slippage until friction is overcome, when the fault suddenly slips to produce the earthquake 2)Most earthquakes arent very large so very little destrction takes place, also many earthquakes occur far away from populated area.......  3)Faults are where two slabs of rock meet. Whether or not they have active creep doesn't much matter, they will continue to have the potential for an earthquake of any size, though creep areas are less so, as shown in the town of Hollister and Pleasantville, California. Faults with no creep are *not* safe. Even faults that appear to be extinct may come to life at any time.

So a fault is where an earthquake occurs, when two slabs of rock move past each other. These are deep, deep faults, not just little surface scars. The earthquake foci is the exact point beneath the surface where the primary movement occurred. This is also called the hypocenter. The epicenter is the spot on the ground directly above the foci / hypocenter. 30/30