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Encyclopediaearthquakeearthquake, trembling or shaking movement of the earth's surface. Most earthquakes are minor tremors. Larger earthquakes usually begin with slight tremors but rapidly take the form of one or more violent shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force called aftershocks. The subterranean point of origin of an earthquake is called its focus; the point on the surface directly above the focus is the epicenter. The magnitude and intensity of an earthquake is determined by the use of scales, e.g., the Richter scale and the Mercalli scale. Sections in this article: The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. More on earthquake from Infoplease:
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- Earthquake in Taiwan - Earthquake Factsheet Taiwan Tuesday, September 21, 1999, 1:47 a.m. local time by Ricco Villanueva ...
- Earthquake in Turkey - Earthquake Factsheet Learn earthquake basics in Earthquakes 101. Earthquake epicenter: near Izmit, ...
- Earthquakes: magnitude, deaths, frequency, size - Find information about the largest earthquakes on record, recent earthquakes, magnitude and frequency of earthquakes, and deaths from earthquakes worldwide each year.
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