Earthquakes are what happens when the plates bump, slide, or split another plate. Thousands upon thousands of earthquakes happen yearly all over the world. Generally the ones you hear about in the news are the big ones unless it happens locally. Mostly all earthquakes are not felt or are very softly felt. Occasionally there is an earthquake above 6.0 on the Richter scale which is when the damage is done. Below, on this page, you will find information about earthquakes, famous earthquakes, the destruction of earthquakes and how we measure them.
About Famous Earthquakes Destruction Links
Earthquakes
are one of the worst natural disasters in the world. Earthquakes occur in areas where
conflicting plates are colliding, splitting, or sliding past one another. The magnitude of
the earthquake depends on how the two plates collide together. Most major earthquakes, 6.0
and higher, occur on major faultlines like the San Andreas Fault.
Sometimes plates will get "locked together" and the force of the plates trying to break apart creates a lurching type of movement, which in turn creates an earthquake. The epicenter is referred to as the exact location above the center of the earthquake on the surface of the earth. Three seismic waves travel out from the epicenter in every direction. The Primary wave, P wave, is the fastest wave able to travel to the other side of the globe in under 30 minutes. Secondary waves, S waves, can only travel through solids, so they stop in the molten material at the center of the earth. L waves are the waves that actually do structural damage. They are only able to travel on the surface of the earth.
Famous Earthquakes are usually arranged by their magnitude on the Richter scale. In comparison, a tornado can rumble with Richter scale magnitude of 4.8, and a 1-megaton nuclear bomb can measure 7.5 on the Richter scale. The highest magnitude earthquake recorded to date - at about 9.6 - was the 1960 Chilean earthquake, in which a fault 621 miles(1,000 kilometers) long slipped 33 feet (10 meters). Below is a list of some of the more famous earthquakes in the last two centuries.
| Year | Location | Richter Number |
| 1811-1812 | New Madrid earthquake, Missouri (a series of quakes from December 1811 to March 1812) | 8.0-8.3 |
| 1899 | Yakutat Bay earthquake, Alaska | 8.3-8.6 (estimate) |
| 1906 | San Francisco earthquake, California | 7.7-8.25 (estimate) |
| 1960 | Chilean earthquake, Chile | 9.6 (disagreement on magnitude) |
| 1964 | Alaskan earthquake, Alaska | 8.5 |
| 1971 | San Fernando earthquake, California | 6.5 |
| 1976 | Tangshan earthquake, China | 8.2 |
| 1985 | Mexico City earthquake, Mexico | 8.1 |
| 1988 | Armenian earthquake earthquake, Armenia | 6.9 |
| 1989 | Loma Prieta earthquake, California | 7.1 |
| 1990 | Northwest Iran earthquake, Iran | 7.7 |
| 1994 | Bolivian earthquake, South America | 8.3 (largest deep quake on record) |
| 1994 | Northridge earthquake, California | 6.8 |
| 1995 | Kobe earthquake, Japan | 6.8 |
Earthquakes can sometimes be small enough to not even feel them, but other times earthquakes can be devastating. When earthquakes 6.0 to 6.5, occur buildings and roads are damaged maybe even completely destroyed. Above 6.5, total panic will occur and most buildings will be destroyed, and much more fatalities will prevail. Underwater earthquakes can create just as much damage as earthquakes on land. When underwater earthquakes occur they create large waves, called tsunamis, that travel to coastlines and flood out many big cities, while killing hundreds of people in the process.
- National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC)
- United States Geological Survey (USGS)
(All images on this page provided by United States Geological Survey)
