Earthquakes

The study of earthquakes is a big part of plate tectonics. The movement of Earth's tectonic plates can set off earthquakes in plate boundaries that contain faults. In the US there are many earthquakes such as long the West Coast from California to Alaska. These earthquakes result from tectonic plates grinding past one another.

Most earthquakes occur in narrow zones that join to form a continous network bounding regions that are seismically less active such as rift valleys, oceanic ridges, mountain belts, volcanic chains and deep oceanic renches. When stresses accumulate to the point that rocks in the earth's crust break, an earthquake results.

What causes earthquakes

Earthquake facts

Types of Faults