Investigate of Erbaa earthquakes in terms of authentic learning (1939-1942-1943 earthquakes)

Natural disasters have been effective in human life for thousands of years. These effects appear with spatial differentiations according to physical geographical features. In our country, a great many natural disasters have happened such as earthquake, flood, avalanche, landslide, etc. and still happen. Even though people set up their settlements far from disaster areas, some physical features (especially agricultural productivity, water resources, etc.) have led to the preference of places, where natural disasters can occur, as settlements. With the development of the science of geography over the time and its expression as a science like other sciences, some detailed researches on the spatial settlement of people have begun to be presented. With the advantages that physical geography offers, and the possible risks being clearly revealed, people started to develop precautions against the risks of the geography they live in. Even though the precautions are aimed at preventing possible threats of the natural life, there have been, and still are, cases where these precautions are insufficient. In our research, we tried to discuss the earthquakes, a part of disasters, which is one of the elements of physical geography, based on the geography we live in. We aimed to examine the earthquakes which occured in 1939-1942-1943 in Tokat Erbaa district, located on the North Anatolian fault line, in terms of authentic learning. Firstly, we examined the physical geographical features of the region we live in. Considering the other disasters, earthquakes appear as the most common disaster in our country and cause devastating effects. Although people know that earthquakes are dangerous, they don't show the necessary seriousness in taking precautions against earthquakes. In addition, we made a list of people over the age of 85, who could contribute to our research with their knowledge and experience, and we made plans for meeting them. The effects of the devastating earthquakes that occured in the North Anatolian fault line in 1939-1942-1943 and what happened afterwards were revealed by the interviews obtained from the witnessings of individuals who lived in Erbaa. The research was concluded by examining the knowledge and experiences of individuals over the age of 85, the places they lived in and spatial changes, the first degree relatives around them, and the existence of the earthquake-related expressions of the individuals who experienced the earthquake by authentic learning. In our country, the reality of a natural disaster that causes devastating effects, such as earthquakes, is always up to date. We used the interview method to reveal the effects and results of the 1939-1942-1943 earthquakes in the Erbaa region. The participants were asked 22 questions. In addition, the close environment of the participants was also examined in terms of authentic learning, by asking questions to the individuals who are in the close environment of the participants. 15 of the 56 people who were determined to live in the Erbaa region participated in our interviews. During the interviews, data collection works such as photographing, sound recording and video recording were also carried out by permission of the participants. The obtained data were analyzed using the latest versions of Apple Pages and Numbers, Microsoft Word and Excel. As a result of our analyses; the physical and human features of the region, the information and experiences about the 1939-1942-1943 earthquakes and their evaluation in terms of authentic learning were revealed.