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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Explosive volcanic eruptions happen when magma pressure overcomes rock strength

Magma usually stays underground because of a balance between its upward pressure, the weight of the Earth’s crust above, and the crust’s rock strength. Landslides can reduce crust weight, while built-up gas pressure can strengthen magmastatic pressure.

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.

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

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....

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

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.

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.

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.

After a landslide, repeat activity may follow the appearance of cracks, springs of water, or dirt, sand, and rocks tumbling down from scars—exposed portions of Earth where the initial landslide began.

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...

Techniques to earthquake-proof a building include the use of counterweights, such as a massive column or pendulum, to dampen the impact of seismic activity and isolating a building's structure from its base.

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.

Unlike hurricanes, tornadoes are not ranked based on measured wind speed

Technological limitations prevent direct measurements of wind speeds where tornadoes make contact with the ground. Instead, the Enhanced Fujita scale assigns a rating with a range of speeds based on how much damage a tornado caused to various types of structures. These types are more extensive than the original Fujita scale.

Every day, lightning releases several Hiroshima bombs' worth of energy into the atmosphere

If all this lightning struck one location at once, the bolt would be the diameter of the center circle of a basketball court, turning the entire court into a crater. Its heat would ignite surfaces for miles around, and its shockwave would demolish buildings.

Research suggests a 95-kilometer-wide (59-mile-wide) asteroid impact could boil the Earth's oceans

Even a 1-kilometer-wide (0.62-mile-wide) asteroid can trigger earthquakes and tsunamis on impact with oceans. The overwhelming majority of asteroids that reach Earth are much smaller and burn up in the atmosphere before reaching the ground.

The four types of seismic waves—vibrations that carry energy generated by geological events, such as earthquakes—are categorized as body or surface waves.

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

The composition of magma affects the explosivity of volcanic eruptions

Silicate-rich magma contains extensive molecular chains that trap dissolved gases like water and carbon dioxide. These gases build pressure until they violently escape, creating explosive eruptions. Low-silica magmas produce gentler eruptions categorized as effusive.

When struck, objects vibrate at unique rates called resonant frequencies, which makes tapping wood sound different from tapping metal, but providing objects with sound at their resonant frequency can cause them to shatter.