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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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

Some tectonic plates move faster than their underlying convection currents

Like a chain slipping off a ledge, as tectonic plates sink, their weight can pull the rest of the trailing plate forward, accelerating their movement. Plates can also break apart and fall, creating a suction effect that drives movement, resembling leaves following a passing car.

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

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.

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

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...

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.

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.

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.

Thunder occurs when fast-flowing electricity heats and pressurizes air, causing it to expand and produce a shockwave at each point along the bolt at multiple frequencies.

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

The San Andreas Fault is an example of tectonic plates sliding past each other

The transform boundary divides the opposing movements of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates, which create shear zones that distort and fracture rock. These movements produce shallow earthquakes as rocks are gradually displaced hundreds of miles.

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.

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.

Wave tanks can be used to create and study the impacts of tsunamis by building tension in an underwater object before allowing it to slip and rapidly displace water.

Sharp wave ripples in the brain tag experiences for long-term memory storage

These ripples were known to quickly replay neuronal sequences during sleep for consolidation. While awake, they help the brain prioritize memories to remember, and their disruption can impair memory formation.

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.

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.

Tsunamis are a series of waves rather than a single one, and boats are safer from them in deeper waters, where tsunami waves are smaller.

The Ring of Fire, which spans 40,000 kilometers (24,900 miles) around the Pacific Ocean, is the most geologically active region on Earth.

Disposal wells for fracking wastewater have been linked to spikes in seismic activity

A study of all such underground wells in the central and eastern US found that they were 1.5 times more likely to be associated with earthquakes than oil recovery wells. The link between fluid injection and earthquakes was strongest at disposal wells where fluid was injected quickly.

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.

The earliest earthquake-detection device—the seismoscope—was invented in China in 132 CE and featured eight ball-wielding dragons facing different directions.

A tsunami—Japanese for 'harbor wave'—can begin with a drop in sea level before rising, which has contributed to its mistaken categorization as a tidal wave, despite being unrelated to the moon's gravity.

Tornadoes produce inaudible signals to humans hours before forming

Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found that tornado-producing storms generate specific sounds below the range of human hearing, much like the infrasonic signals produced by earthquakes and avalanches. Although difficult to distinguish from wind noise, scientists hope to build systems that use these signals to improve tornado forecasting.

Supervolcanoes can eject enough material to fill one-fourth of the Grand Canyon

Although extremely rare, their released material can trigger winters by blocking the sun and cooling the Earth’s surface for years. The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago disrupted food chains and reduced the human population to a few thousand.

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.

Deep-sea trenches form when one tectonic plate subducts another underwater

Oceanic plates sink when colliding with less dense continental plates, bending the seafloor into steep depressions that can be almost 11 kilometers deep. Many of Earth’s strongest earthquakes occur at these plate boundaries, often featuring volcanic activity.

Tree rings can reveal centuries of environmental change and natural events

The width and shape of tree rings reflect yearly growth conditions like rainfall or snowfall. Scars in the rings can record disruptions such as fires, avalanches, or earthquakes, explaining when and how those events occurred.

Gravitational waves—ripples in spacetime that result from the motion of objects—were detected a century after Albert Einstein predicted their existence upon developing his theory of gravity.

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.

Magnetic material in rocks provides evidence of flips in Earth's magnetic field

Volcanic rocks can lock in the direction of Earth's magnetic field as they cool, making them natural recorders of magnetism. Dating rocks and seeing the changing orientation of their magnetic field helps construct a timeline of Earth's magnetic field history.