There are different kinds of earthquakes. Some are powerful and some are not. If a powerful earthquake happens in a ocean or by an ocean it can create tsunami and can endanger many lives. Others that are on land can also endanger lives. Two of the most recent were Japan and Haiti. Japan had a tsunami come through and wiped out thousands of lives. Haiti was a land a land earthquake and killed millions. Not only did the earthquake itself killed many but after affect left millions in hunger and dehydrated.

An earthquake is cause by a sudden release of energy in the Earth’s crust that creates seismic waves. Earth scientists believe that most earthquakes are caused by slow movements inside the Earth that push up against Earth’s brittle, a thin outer layer, causing rocks to break. The outer layer is fragmented into a number a pieces called plates.

Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries of plates. Places like South America, North America, Japan, Australia, Africa, Philippines, India, Caribbean, and Haiti get attract earthquakes because they sit or are near plates. Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state and one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Alaska experiences a magnitude 7 earthquake almost every year, and a magnitude 8 or greater earthquake almost every 14 years.

Actually a lot have occurred in the US. The two most common ones were in San Francisco and Alaska. The 1906 San Francisco Earthquake was the largest earthquake ever experienced in California. The earthquake measured up to a magnitude 8.25 earthquake. The 1964 Alaskan Earthquake was the biggest earthquake ever recorded in the United States and North America! It measured up to a magnitude 9.2 earthquake.