A Guide to Recent Earthquakes

(Map Courtesy of the USGS)

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This Web project was developed as part of "Internet Resources" courses offered by the Biology and Geology departments of the California State University, Los Angeles in 1995 and 1996. It was submitted to the instructors for evaluation and then placed on-line by the Electronic Desktop Project (EDP). EDP does not update or maintain any of the material of this project, and does not vouch for validity or correctness. Furthermore, the student developing this project was instructed about the rules of copyrights. EDP can in no way be responsible for the inclusion of copyrighted material within this project.
Webster's Dictionary defines an "earthquake" as follows:

earth·quake \'erth-,kwaĆk\ n

1: a shaking or trembling of the earth that is volcanic or tectonic in origin

2: UPHEAVAL

Earthquakes have long fascinated and terrified mankind. Early reports of damaging, killer earthquakes have been noted in the early writings and legends of the Chinese, Hebrews, Japanese, Persians, Assyrians, Turks, Greeks, Minoans, Romans, Moors, Aztecs, Coos, Hawaiians, Polynesians, and others. Although trembling and shaking of the earth have long caused men, women, and children to quake in their boots, most early earthquakes were believed to be the handiwork of irate Gods and Goddesses. Probably the most famous of the volcano deities was (is) Pele, the Goddess of Fire in Hawaiian mythology. Hawaiian legends tell of human sacrifices thrown into the caldera of Halemau'mau as the most efficient means of appeasing the goddess. Even in this day and age, native Hawaiians practice their religion by offering gifts and offerings to Pele. However, even when earthquakes occurred during the eruption of volcanoes, the phenomena were usually considered to be separate, unrelated events. Hawaiian stories attributed earthquakes to Pele roaming about in caverns (lava tubes) beneath the Big Island. Infrequent earthquakes on the other islands could then easily be explained as the rare visitations of Pele checking on her domain. Volcanic eruptions, on the other hand, were the result of an angry Pele seeking revenge on the island's inhabitants for their various transgressions via the cleansing of fire (lava).

Although the earthquakes have long been known to occur during the eruption of volcanoes, it wasn't until the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries that faults were also recognized as a major source of earthquakes. The earliest recognition of faulting as a cause of earthquakes was E.S. Larsen during his reconnaissance of the San Andreas fault surface rupture in association with the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The recognition of earthquakes, faults and volcanoes as surrounding the Pacific Ocean led to the name "Ring of Fire" for the lands and islands bordering this sea. Alfred Wegener proposed his theory of "continental drift" in 1912 as a means of explaining geology, geography, and volcanic and seismic activity. However, acceptance of Wegener's theory did not come until the advent of paleomagnetic dating showed that the oceanic crust was acting as a conveyor belt, alternately separating continents in certain areas and converging the land masses in other areas. These studies identified the mid ocean ridges and rises as large submarine volcanic chains. The ridges and rises represent areas of diverging continental crust, while the deep oceanic trenches represent areas of converging crust (subduction zones). Refined seismometers indicated that earthquakes not only occurred associated with the subducting slabs in the trenches, but, to a lesser magnitude, also along the ridges and rises and their associated fault systems.

Internet Sources for Recent Seismic Activity

The following institutions provide on-line access to recent seismic activity for various specific locations:

Internet Sources for Recent Seismicity Maps of Selected Locales

The sources include on-line access to recent seismicity maps for various specific locations:

Internet Sources for Recent Volcanic Activity

The following institutions provide on-line access to recent volcanic activity for various specific locations:

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    To access a bibliography of recent earthquakes on the Internet, click here

    In addtion to the World Wide Web sites, recent earthquake information is also avaliable via Web Crawler and/or Gopher. Search the Internet on "earthquake" or "volcano" using the Web Crawler or Gopher's Veronica. These sources will provide access not only the locations listed above, but also to eyewitness accounts of recent temblors, such as the M7.2 quake in Kobe, Japan, the M6.5 eq in Colombia, or the mundane M5.3 shaker in Washington.

    For those with an excess of time on their hands, recent NEWS articles can be accessed by entering NewsServer via Earthquake NewsGroup.In addition, articles on recent earthquakes are often lodged in the Geology NewsGroup.

    Try a Virtual Earthquake from CSULA.

    The following has been added by the Electronic Desktop Project:

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