The main objective of this experimental study was to reveal the importance and effectiveness of the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) based materials in the course of the earthquake topic to high school 10th grade students. The selected topic of the study was "The relationship between faults, plate movements and earthquakes in Turkey". The study was designed according to the pretest-posttest control group pattern. For this purpose, two homogeneous classes with 20 students each were selected via convenience sapling method in Çamardi 75th Year Martyr Lieutenant Mehmet Erdem Multi-Programme Anatolian High School in Nigde province of Turkey. One of the classes was considered as the experimental group and the other control group. The data were collected using a multiple-choice test comprising 27 questions developed in line with the Geography Education Curriculum of the Ministry of Education by the researchers. Within the content of the study; following the pretest, the control group was taught via conventional method and materials. And the experimental group was taught utilizing the materials prepared by GIS with ArcGIS 10.2 software indicating the relationship between the distribution of active faults and historical earthquakes (with magnitudes 5 and more) in Turkey. After posttest, the data obtained were analyzed through t-test in SPSS 22.0. The results revealed that the experimental group had higher score than the control group, which showed the significant effect of GIS based materials on student success. It was also determined that GIS based activities significantly increased the achievement level of the students compared to the conventional methods, and GIS platforms had significant potential in secondary school geography courses as an effective educational tool.