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soil liquefaction
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Educational diagram comparing stable soil with liquefied soil during an earthquake. On the left, buildings stand upright on stable soil with grains held together by friction. On the right, shaking causes soil grains to separate, leading to liquefied soil where buildings tilt and collapse as stability is lost. Insets show magnified views of soil grain arrangement in both conditions.
A woman sits at a table with tools for a scientific demonstration.
San Francisco earthquake of 1906: soil liquefaction Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989: soil liquefaction Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989: soil liquefaction Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989: sand volcano Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989: sand volcanoes
See a presentation to understand liquefaction
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Educational diagram comparing stable soil with liquefied soil during an earthquake. On the left, buildings stand upright on stable soil with grains held together by friction. On the right, shaking causes soil grains to separate, leading to liquefied soil where buildings tilt and collapse as stability is lost. Insets show magnified views of soil grain arrangement in both conditions.
soil liquefaction The qualities of stable soil compared with those of liquefied soil.

soil liquefaction

geology
Also known as: earthquake liquefaction
Written by
John P. Rafferty
John P. Rafferty writes about Earth processes and the environment. He serves currently as the editor of Earth and life sciences, covering climatology, geology, zoology, and other topics that relate to...
John P. Rafferty
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
History

soil liquefaction, ground failure or loss of strength that causes otherwise solid soil to behave temporarily as a viscous liquid. The phenomenon occurs in water-saturated unconsolidated soils affected by seismic S waves (secondary waves), which cause ground vibrations during earthquakes. Although earthquake shock is the best known cause of liquefaction, certain construction practices, including blasting and soil compaction and vibroflotation (which uses a vibrating probe to change the grain structure of the surrounding soil), produce...

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