Landscapes and Landforms

Examples of news reports in Clickview

An earthquake is what happens when two blocks of the earth suddenly slip past one another. The surface where they slip is called the fault or fault plane. The location below the earth’s surface where the earthquake starts is called the hypocenter, and the location directly above it on the surface of the earth is called the epicenter.

Earthquakes are the vibrations caused by rocks breaking under stress. The underground surface along which the rock breaks and moves is called a fault plane.

The focus, or “hypocentre”, of an earthquake is the point where it originated within the Earth. The point on the Earth's surface directly above the focus is called the earthquake epicentre.

Earthquakes can leave behind incredible devastation, while also creating some of the planet's most magnificent formations. Learn about the geophysics behind earthquakes, how they are measured, and where the most powerful earthquake ever witnessed occurred.