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An earthquake is the shaking of the surface of Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes may also be referred to as quakes, tremors, or temblors. The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling.
Earthquakes occur when tectonic plates suddenly break free, so they start moving quickly. The first point of an earthquake's rupture is called its hypocenter or focus. The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter. People who study earthquakes are called seismologists.
Earthquakes (6.0+ Mw) between 1900 and 2017. Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history.
Earthquake, any sudden shaking of the ground caused by the passage of seismic waves through Earth’s rocks. Earthquakes occur most often along geologic faults, narrow zones where rock masses move in relation to one another.
Deep-focus earthquake, also called a plutonic earthquake, an earthquake with a depth exceeding 70 kilometres (43 mi). [5] Doublet earthquake, an earthquake that consists of at least two or more mainshocks of nearly identical magnitude, separated by a period of time. [6]
An earthquake is caused by a sudden slip on a fault. The tectonic plates are always slowly moving, but they get stuck at their edges due to friction. When the stress on the edge overcomes the friction, there is an earthquake that releases energy in waves that travel through the earth's crust and cause the shaking that we feel.
Here's what you need to know about where earthquakes typically occur, how earthquakes are measured, and the damage that the strongest earthquakes can cause.