Geology / Earthquakes
Earthquakes are the most widely spread evidence that the Earth is still active. It has been active since it was first formed billions of years ago. Just one billion years ago the Earth had somewhat settled down, there were areas of land (continental crust) surrounded by oceans with their thinner, denser oceanic crust deep beneath the waves. The earth's surface became divided into stable areas of crust with mobile unstable margins. As the oceanic crust cooled it became denser and fell back into the semi-liquid (on a geological time scale) vast volume of the Earth's mantle. This thick mantle is itself driven by convection currents that are continually transporting heat energy from the still hot Core to the cold crust.
One of the main causes of earthquakes are the jerky but remoreseful movements of the plates as they slide, crush or descend past each other. These events cause the really big earthquakes. Alternatively the ascent of the hot magma from the mantle can cause earthquakes, but these tend to be not as strong and not as deep. An eruption of a large volcano can cause local earthquakes as the magma rises and stresses the shallow rocks. Human activity can create small earthquakes too, this often happens when a rivers are dammed and the huge weight of the water building up in the lake causes stresses in the underlying rocks.
If you'd like to look at recent earthquakes, we have generated some pages using data supplied by :
U.S. Geological Survey
| Date and Time | Strength, Location | Latitude | Longtitude |
| February 03, 2012 01:22:23 GMT | M 2.5, Central Alaska | 62.2244 | -145.7981 |
| February 02, 2012 23:22:58 GMT | M 2.5, Southern Alaska | 60.0335 | -152.9921 |
| February 02, 2012 23:07:12 GMT | M 3.9, Fox Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska | 51.9756 | -171.4280 |
| February 02, 2012 22:54:22 GMT | M 2.5, Southern Alaska | 60.0160 | -152.9097 |
| February 02, 2012 21:52:47 GMT | M 3.6, Central Alaska | 62.2408 | -145.5900 |
| February 02, 2012 21:47:52 GMT | M 4.8, Vanuatu | -17.5229 | 167.2352 |
| February 02, 2012 21:38:34 GMT | M 4.8, Tonga | -16.8091 | -173.9201 |
| February 02, 2012 20:26:31 GMT | M 5.1, Vanuatu | -17.5193 | 167.3591 |
| February 02, 2012 19:44:35 GMT | M 5.1, Vanuatu | -17.4567 | 167.2287 |
| February 02, 2012 19:20:45 GMT | M 4.9, Vanuatu | -17.9963 | 167.8277 |
| February 02, 2012 19:15:47 GMT | M 2.6, Northern California | 38.7895 | -122.7428 |
| February 02, 2012 17:58:00 GMT | M 3.0, Southern Alaska | 60.0159 | -153.0216 |
| February 02, 2012 17:28:47 GMT | M 5.2, Vanuatu | -17.5957 | 167.3395 |
| February 02, 2012 17:27:07 GMT | M 5.5, Vanuatu | -17.9627 | 167.2086 |
| February 02, 2012 17:20:43 GMT | M 2.6, Baja California, Mexico | 32.2475 | -115.1770 |
| February 02, 2012 17:12:39 GMT | M 2.8, Southern Alaska | 60.0170 | -152.9893 |
| February 02, 2012 16:04:45 GMT | M 5.0, Vanuatu | -17.7788 | 167.2327 |
| February 02, 2012 15:57:01 GMT | M 2.5, Island of Hawaii, Hawaii | 19.3170 | -155.2155 |
| February 02, 2012 14:10:11 GMT | M 3.0, Kenai Peninsula, Alaska | 60.1666 | -150.9589 |
| February 02, 2012 13:57:50 GMT | M 3.3, Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska | 52.8116 | -174.5374 |
| February 02, 2012 13:57:07 GMT | M 5.3, Vanuatu | -17.4622 | 167.1692 |
| February 02, 2012 13:53:45 GMT | M 4.9, Vanuatu | -17.5972 | 167.1911 |
| February 02, 2012 13:34:40 GMT | M 7.1, Vanuatu | -17.7656 | 167.1343 |
| February 02, 2012 10:56:50 GMT | M 4.5, Antofagasta, Chile | -20.9020 | -68.9158 |
| February 02, 2012 10:44:07 GMT | M 4.8, Vanuatu | -17.8721 | 168.4340 |
| February 02, 2012 10:15:23 GMT | M 3.0, Central Alaska | 63.3977 | -150.8893 |
| February 02, 2012 09:32:15 GMT | M 5.5, New Britain region, Papua New Guinea | -6.6075 | 149.8132 |
| February 02, 2012 09:16:18 GMT | M 5.0, New Ireland region, Papua New Guinea | -5.2937 | 153.5502 |
| February 02, 2012 09:03:37 GMT | M 2.6, Southern Alaska | 60.2135 | -147.2541 |
| February 02, 2012 07:59:54 GMT | M 4.9, Sumba region, Indonesia | -9.9469 | 120.4970 |
| February 02, 2012 07:33:41 GMT | M 2.9, Central California | 36.2252 | -118.3182 |
| February 02, 2012 06:51:38 GMT | M 3.1, Virgin Islands region | 18.9839 | -65.1139 |
| February 02, 2012 06:46:31 GMT | M 5.4, New Britain region, Papua New Guinea | -6.6421 | 149.8013 |
| February 02, 2012 06:21:36 GMT | M 2.7, Virgin Islands region | 18.9927 | -65.1136 |
| February 02, 2012 06:05:49 GMT | M 2.6, Central Alaska | 62.3034 | -151.1453 |
| February 02, 2012 06:02:59 GMT | M 3.3, Virgin Islands region | 18.9748 | -64.1490 |
| February 02, 2012 04:50:48 GMT | M 5.0, near the coast of southern Peru | -16.2208 | -73.6147 |
| February 02, 2012 04:24:22 GMT | M 4.6, offshore El Salvador | 13.3321 | -89.2997 |
| February 02, 2012 04:24:04 GMT | M 2.8, Puerto Rico region | 17.8710 | -65.8550 |
| February 02, 2012 03:42:39 GMT | M 2.9, Puerto Rico region | 17.8581 | -65.8500 |
| February 02, 2012 02:48:06 GMT | M 5.0, west of Macquarie Island | -60.8899 | 153.3797 |