Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
earthquake
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images, Videos & Interactives
Kōbe earthquake of 1995 earthquake-damaged neighbourhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti World map displaying global seismic centers for earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater from 1975 to 1999. Colored circles mark earthquake locations, with size indicating magnitude and color representing depth of focus, showing dense concentrations along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mediterranean-Asian seismic belt, and mid-ocean ridges. San Francisco earthquake of 1906 World map displaying global seismic centers for earthquakes of magnitude 5.5 and greater from 1975 to 1999. Colored circles mark earthquake locations, with size indicating magnitude and color representing depth of focus, showing dense concentrations along the Pacific Ring of Fire, Mediterranean-Asian seismic belt, and mid-ocean ridges.
The video thumbnail image shows a woman trying to break a bundle of pasta strands as part of a scientific demonstration.
Buildings collapse on a street in Myanmar, while onlookers stand by.
Diagram showing three types of faulting related to earthquakes: normal faulting, reverse faulting, and strike-slip faulting, with labeled blocks, fault lines, and movement directions. World map displaying the locations of volcanoes and thermal fields that have been active in the past 10,000 years, marked with red dots. Dense clusters are visible along the Pacific Ring of Fire, including the west coasts of the Americas, eastern Asia, and island arcs in the Pacific, as well as scattered sites in the Mediterranean, East Africa, and the Atlantic.
Understanding earthquakes: The role of Earth's crustal plates
At a Glance
Burning and collapsed buildings in Kōbe, Japan, after the January 1995 earthquake.
earthquake summary
Quizzes
rain. Child in the rain, wearing a rain coat, under a yellow umbrella. April Showers weather climate rain storm water drops
April Showers to March’s Lions and Lambs
Warm water fuels Hurricane Katrina. This image depicts a 3-day average of actual dea surface temperatures for the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, from August 25-27, 2005.
Disasters of Historic Proportion
Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
The Solid Earth Quiz
Encyclopaedia Britannica thistle graphic to be used with a Mendel/Consumer quiz in place of a photograph.
36 Questions from Britannica’s Most Popular Science Quizzes
Related Questions

earthquake: References & Edit History

Additional Reading

Earthquakes are covered mainly in books on seismology. Recommended introductory texts are Bruce A. Bolt, Earthquakes, 4th ed. (1999), and Earthquakes and Geological Discovery (1993); and Jack Oliver, Shocks and Rocks: Seismology and the Plate Tectonics Revolution (1996). Comprehensive books on key aspects of seismic hazards are Leon Reiter, Earthquake Hazard Analysis—Issues and Insights (1990); and Robert S. Yeats, Kerry Sieh, and Clarence R. Allen, The Geology of Earthquakes (1997). A history of discrimination between underground nuclear explosions and natural earthquakes is given by Bruce A. Bolt, Nuclear Explosions and Earthquakes: The Parted Veil (1976).

More advanced texts that treat the theory of earthquake waves in detail are Agustín Udías, Principles of Seismology (1999); Thorne Lay and Terry C. Wallace, Modern Global Seismology (1995); Peter M. Shearer, Introduction to Seismology (1999); and K.E. Bullen and Bruce A. Bolt, An Introduction to the Theory of Seismology, 4th ed. (1985).

Bruce A. Bolt

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Added media. Jun 25, 2026
Added top question. Jun 25, 2026
Added an entry for the Kamchatka Peninsula earthquake of 2025. Jul 30, 2025
Media added. Mar 31, 2025
Questions and answers added. Feb 21, 2025
Add new Web site: British Geological Survey - What causes earthquakes? Oct 25, 2024
Added an earthquake interactive and two videos. Aug 14, 2024
Add new Web site: University of Saskatchewan - Physical Geology - What is an Earthquake? Apr 26, 2023
Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Earthquake. Oct 18, 2022
New media added. Feb 01, 2021
Add new Web site: Michigan Tech - UPSeis - Where Do Earthquakes Happen? Dec 12, 2018
Corrected display issue. Jun 13, 2018
Add new Web site: KidsGeo.com - Earthquake. Dec 23, 2016
Add new Web site: National Geographic Kids - Science - Earthquake. Dec 23, 2016
Add new Web site: Weather Wiz Kids - Earthquakes. Sep 02, 2016
Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Earthquakes and Why They Happen. Sep 02, 2016
Add new Web site: Science Kids - Fun Science and Technology for Kids! - Earthquake Facts. Sep 02, 2016
Media added. Jun 10, 2016
Added video. Apr 30, 2015
Add new Web site: Buzzle.com - Earthquake. Jan 06, 2013
Add new Web site: EarthquakeCountry Info - Seven Steps for Earthquake Safety. Oct 25, 2012
Add new Web site: EarthquakeCountry Info - Seven Steps for Earthquake Safety. Oct 25, 2012
Video added that examines the role of plate tectonics in earthquake development. Nov 02, 2011
Add new Web site: ThinkQuest - Earthquake. Aug 19, 2011
Add new Web site: Fact Monster - Science - Earthquake. Aug 08, 2011
Earthquake map depicting global seismicity added. Mar 15, 2011
New section describing the table of major historical earthquakes added. Mar 15, 2011
Added new Web site: National Geographic - Environment - Earthquake. Apr 20, 2009
Added new Web site: How Stuff Works - Science - How Earthquakes Works. Dec 25, 2008
Added new Web site: Arkansas Geological Survey - Earthquakes. Nov 09, 2008
Added new Web site: Federal Emergency Management Agency - Earthquakes. Aug 26, 2008
Added new Web site: Think Quest - Earthquakes. Jul 08, 2008
Added new Web site: USGS - Earthquake History. Jun 16, 2008
Added new Web site: Discover Our Earth - Earthquakes. Apr 07, 2008
Article revised and updated. Apr 04, 2008
Added new Web site: USGS - The Science of Earthquakes. Jan 03, 2008
Media added. Jul 18, 2007
Added new Web site: USGS - The Severity of an Earthquake. May 16, 2007
Added new Web site: Earthquakes. Nov 16, 2006
Added new Web site: United States Geological Survey - Tsunamis and Earthquakes. Nov 15, 2006
Added new Web site: USGS - Earthquake Hazards Program - Northern California. Nov 07, 2006
Added new Web site: United States Geological Survey - National Earthquake Information Center. Nov 07, 2006
Added new Web site: The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network. Oct 24, 2006
Added new Web site: The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network. Oct 24, 2006
Added new Web site: U.S. Geological Survey Hawaiian Volcano Observatory. Oct 05, 2006
Added new Web site: Official Site of Southern California Earthquake Center Data Center. Sep 29, 2006
Added new Web site: Southern California Earthquake Data Center - Archive of Recent and Historic Earthquakes in Southern California and Nevada. Sep 07, 2006
Added new Web site: PBS Online - Savage Earth. Aug 07, 2006
Added new Web site: PBS Online - Savage Earth. Aug 07, 2006
Added new Web site: The Pacific Northwest Seismograph Network. Jun 30, 2006
Added new Web site: Santa Barbara Earthquake History. Jun 27, 2006
Added new Web site: University of California, Santa Barbara - Understanding Earthquakes. Jun 16, 2006
Added new Web site: Seismic Education Site - UPSeis. Jun 13, 2006
Added new Web site: Seismic Education Site - UPSeis. Jun 13, 2006
Added new Web site: Emploratorium - Faultline- Seismic Science at the Epicenter. May 31, 2006
Added new Web site: The Tech Museum of Innovation - Earthquakes - What's Shakin'? May 17, 2006
Article revised. Feb 16, 2006
Article revised. Aug 24, 2005
Article revised. Jan 12, 2000
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
View Changes:
Article History
Revised:
By: