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Seismic waves are the most dramatic and most intensely studied
manifestations of earthquakes. However, we also know of non-seismic
phenomena, which precede large earthquakes. Some of them have been
reported for centuries, even millennia. The list is long and diverse: bulging of
the Earth's surface, changing well water levels, ground-hugging fog, low
frequency electromagnetic emission, earthquake lights from ridges and
mountain tops, magnetic field anomalies up to 0.5% of the Earth's dipole
field, temperature anomalies by several degrees over wide areas as seen in
satellite images, changes in the plasma density of the ionosphere, and strange
animal behavior. Because it seems nearly impossible to imagine that such
diverse phenomena could have a common physical cause, there is great
confusion and even greater controversy. This explains why reports on nonseismic
pre-earthquake phenomena are regarded with suspicion in the scientific
community. This may change with the recent discovery that igneous and
metamorphic rocks, which make up a major portion of the Earth's crust, contain
electric charge carriers, which have been overlooked in the past. These charge
carriers are defect electrons in the valence band, i.e., positive holes. Under
normal conditions they are dormant, but when they ??wake up'', the rocks begin
to sparkle and glow. This paper describes the physical and chemical nature of
these positive holes, how they are introduced into minerals and rocks, and how
they become activated. Evidence will be presented that, once the positive holes
are generated, currents propagate through the rocks leading to electromagnetic
emission, to positive surface potentials, to corona discharges, to positive ion
emission, and to mid-infrared radiation. These phenomena are expressions of
the same fundamental process: the ??awakening'' of dormant positive hole
charge carriers that turn rocks momentarily into p-type semiconductors.