The frequency of earthquakes and the distribution of their magnitudes have not changed significantly over long-term records, but technological improvements have enabled scientists to detect more of them as they occur.

Visualize the power and frequency of earthquakes across the moment magnitude scale, where a whole number increase corresponds to about 32 times more energy released.

Earthquakes of identical magnitudes are unlikely to cause equal damage because magnitude only measures energy released, and earthquake severity depends on environmental factors, such as local architecture and geological conditions.

View the 10 largest earthquakes ever recorded as of 2025, led by a 1960 magnitude 9.5 earthquake in Chile, which left about 2 million people unhoused.

Reported earthquake magnitudes often change because initial values are based on limited information, whereas revised magnitudes account for factors such as fault size, rupture duration, and seismic wave behavior.

A magnitude 25 earthquake would release enough energy to destroy the sun, while a particle of dust drifting onto a table would have a magnitude of about -15.

Because the Richter scale was calibrated to crustal and mantle properties in Southern California, seismologists have instead used the moment magnitude scale to quantify earthquakes since the 1970s.

What makes the Earth shake?

Researchers are demystifying the science of earthquakes—from their origins deep within the Earth to the scales that measure their strength. This article, which was part of a series of weekly reports from Cornell University, serves as a guide to...

Although earthquakes cause about 80% of tsunamis, almost all earthquakes lack sufficient energy to cause the sudden shift in the ocean floor needed to substantially displace enormous volumes of water.

Some earthquakes can produce smaller tremors called boomerang earthquakes, which travel in the opposite direction and ripple back to the original earthquake's source.

View a map of the world's major earthquakes from 1956 to 2022, which can be used to identify tectonic plate boundaries.

Scientists determine earthquake locations by comparing how long it takes different seismic waves to be detected at three stations around the world, from which an origin, or hypocenter, can be triangulated.

Predicting earthquakes is difficult because different rock types can withstand different amounts of stress before breaking and melt at different temperatures within Earth's interior, introducing uncertainty into predictive models.

Thunderquakes—seismic waves created when lightning strikes the ground—have enabled scientists to image underground environments near Earth's surface by detecting vibrations along subterranean fiber-optic cables.

Available data suggest that while hurricane frequency has not increased over the past century, average hurricane intensity has, a trend scientists attribute to rising air and ocean temperatures.

Micro-seismic activity has been produced from people cheering or dancing at sporting events, concerts, and other large gatherings, but scientists can easily distinguish these vibrations from natural earthquakes using seismometers.

Rather than predicting them in advance, earthquake early warning systems detect tremors moments after they begin and send notifications that reach users before the seismic activity does.

View the past month of earthquakes worldwide with this digital globe, which displays data from the US Geological Survey.

View maps of seafloor topography, earthquakes, and volcanic activity, which scientists use to create outlines of Earth's tectonic plates.

Tectonic earthquakes are caused by tectonic plates sliding past one another at fault zones, deforming rock through friction as energy builds like a stretched rubber band.

Scientists investigate Earth's interior by studying seismic waves

Scientists investigate Earth's interior by studying seismic wavesBelow Earth's atmosphere lies the crust, which extends to the Mohorovičić discontinuity between five and 20 miles below Earth's surface. Below the crust lies the mantle, the liquid-metal outer core, and the solid inner core, which surpasses 5,200 degrees Celsius (9,392 degrees Fahrenheit).

The world's largest earthquake simulator is an 800-ton shake table facility in Miki, Japan, which was built to test the resilience of structures after the 1995 Kobe earthquake killed over 6,000 people.

Why starquakes may explain various phenomena associated with neutron stars

Fast radio bursts—repeated millisecond-long pulses of enormous energy from neutron stars—are emitted with a timing that resembles the earthquakes and aftershocks seen on Earth when geological activity releases energy from within the planet. Although pulsars should gradually spin more slowly as they lose energy from emitting jets of radiation, sudden increases may result from interior matter moving during starquakes.

Likened to a car backfiring or a faraway cannon fire, skyquakes have been reported worldwide in Earth's atmosphere without any obvious cause.

If, not when: An earthquake is destined to destroy the Pacific Northwest.

When the Cascadia fault line ruptures, it could be North America’s worst natural disaster in recorded history. Read a deep dive into the history of the region and the potential impact of the eventual seismic boom.

Explore an interactive map of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis from 2150 BCE to the present.

Why Turkey's earthquakes were so deadly

The death toll from February 2023 has reached the tens of thousands, making it one of the deadliest natural disasters of the century. The intense seismic activity combined with poor and unregulated construction in many areas to drive fatalities....

200 million years of tectonic plate movement

The Earth's internal forces have continuously pushed and reshaped how the planet's land masses are arranged. From one supercontinent hundreds of millions of years ago, to present day, the Earth has looked dramatically different throughout the...

Portugal's 1775 earthquake is considered Europe's first modern natural disaster.

Scientists can map Earth's shape and structure by measuring the ratios of certain particles arriving from different directions in space, as these ratios change with the density of the material particles travel through.

Enhanced geothermal power systems can trigger earthquakes by injecting fluid into rock, increasing subterranean pressure.

As of 2022, scientists estimate that 117 billion people have been born on Earth

Although no demographic data exist for more than 99% of the time humans have existed, this value can be estimated by tracking approximate population sizes over different periods and the birth rates within those periods. In 2022, about 6.8% of humans that have ever been born were alive.

Only 40% of city-destroying asteroids have been detected

Statistical modeling shows that while we have identified the majority of extinction-level asteroids, smaller asteroids that can cause significant damage remain elusive. Some asteroids, like the one that exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, can't be detected ahead of time since they come from the sun's direction.

Records of Earth's magnetic field on the seafloor validated plate tectonics

Matching glacial, fossil, and rock records, mountain ranges, and continental shapes across oceans was insufficient evidence for continental drift. Precise measurements of magnetic minerals on the ocean floor revealed seafloor spreading, which could only be explained by moving landmasses.

Rather than being triggered by a massive displacement of water from a geological event, meteotsunamis are caused by rapid changes in air pressure from fast-moving weather systems.

Geological tremors on the moon provide evidence that it is shrinking

Apollo seismometers have collected moonquake data, which scientists have analyzed to map the moon's interior and reveal that fault slips producing tremors are the result of sublunar cooling and contraction. It also revealed that the moon's inner core is about 500 kilometers (311 miles) across.

Just as light bends at different angles as it travels through different materials, seismic waves move in different directions through Earth's interior, revealing the presence of layers with varying properties.

Many believe a cataclysmic volcanic eruption is imminent at Yellowstone, though experts say it is unlikely

Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, estimates the likelihood of the event at one in a million. He cautions, though, that the park poses other potential dangers, including steam explosions and earthquakes.

Because seismic waves travel 100 times faster than tsunami waves—waves typically travel faster through solids than liquids—measurements of geological activity help tsunami detection systems provide early warnings.

The average eruption cycle of the Yellowstone supervolcano is 735,000 years

Eruptions a little over 2 million, 1.3 million, and 630,000 years ago indicate that the eruption is not imminent, though the sample size is small. Recent analysis reveals magma pockets are not interconnected, reducing eruption risk.

As of 2025, humans have only dug 0.2% the way to Earth's center

The Kola Superdeep Borehole revealed two billion-year-old fossils and underground water, but the immense temperature and pressure prevented further tunneling. Beyond those depths, scientists know of Earth's interior by analyzing how seismic waves move.

Scientists determined that tectonic plates moved the ocean floor by observing symmetric patterns of magnetic stripes on opposite sides of underwater volcano systems, which could only result from seafloor spreading.

NASA's GUARDIAN software uses changes in satellite navigation signals and AI-powered detection algorithms to anticipate tsunamis and provide real-time alerts to at-risk communities before the phenomena are detected by tidal sensors.

Some scientists hypothesize that stressed rocks can discharge built-up static electricity in the form of lightning—a phenomenon known as fracto-luminescence, or earthquake lights.

Earth’s major tectonic plates make up 95% of its surface

Tectonic plates are pieces of Earth’s lithosphere, which consists of the crust and the solid, upper layer of the mantle. Segments of major plates can break and form minor or microplates, whose total number varies based on ongoing geological activity.

Should you get earthquake insurance?

Standard home insurance doesn’t typically cover earthquakes. Even if you don't live in a state that's known for its earthquakes like California, it might be worth considering—although it's worth noting that only 13% of California residents have earthquake insurance. Learn more about earthquake insurance in this article.

Explore an interactive time-lapse of reported tsunami events since 1850, with identified cause, recorded observations, known deaths, and other information available for each.

How the Turkish earthquake created a 100-mile rupture

A February 2023 earthquake devastated parts of Turkey and Syria destroying entire blocks, with more than 50,000 people killed. A scientific analysis revealed a fault line with a 100-mile-long rupture, where separate tectonic plates moved more than...

Scientists define sea level as the elevation to which water would settle on Earth's surface, given the planet's gravitational field and rotation.

Earth is constantly bombarded by material from space

Most of this matter is composed of small particles, with any smaller than 33 feet in diameter burning up in the atmosphere. Larger asteroids can reach the ground, and those larger than several thousand feet cause global damage, including earthquakes and tsunamis.

Convection flows in Earth’s mantle drive the movement of tectonic plates

These processes transfer heat from Earth’s core to the surface via rising magma plumes, while cooler, denser rock falls into the mantle at rates similar to human fingernail growth. These rates are determined by combining seismic data with computer simulations to model Earth’s interior.