Earthquakes occur when the Earth’s tectonic plates collide or shift, causing the ground to shake and potentially break.

An earthquake is an abrupt shaking of the ground caused by a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust. This sudden release of energy causes a seismic wave that travels through the Earth and can cause violent shaking along any nearby fault lines. The severity of an earthquake is measured on the Richter scale. Earthquakes are also known as tremors, shakes, quakes, or temblors.

What causes earthquakes?

Tectonic Plates

The earth is made up of several different tectonic plates that float on top of one another. These plates are constantly moving very slowly around the earth’s surface. When two plates meet they can either slide past each other or one plate can push under another. These two types of movement cause earthquakes.

The San Andreas Fault in California is an example of where two tectonic plates meet and push against each other.

When a plate slides past another plate it creates what is called a strike-slip fault.

When one plate moves under another it creates what is called a subduction zone.

Subduction zones are responsible for some of the largest earthquakes in history.

A subduction zone will create large tsunamis when they shift because they move so much material underneath them.