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Earthquakes tend to occur on either side of the Pacific Ocean, including the Western coast of North and South America, as well as East Asian islands like Japan. This is because the crustal plates of these continents are moving and sliding over the plates that make up the Pacific Ocean floor. These areas are known as the Ring of Fire because they also contain many active volcanoes. Four out of every five earthquakes occur in the Ring of Fire.

Another series of faults traces through southern Europe and Central Asia. Some of the world’s worst earthquakes, and some of the most recent ones, have occurred over faults that crisscross through Turkey and Iran.

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