Where Do Earthquakes Occur? | Britannica

Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos Home Science Earth Science, Geologic Time & Fossils Earth Sciences Where do earthquakes occur? More Actions Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/question/Where-do-earthquakes-occur Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree.... The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Earthquakes can occur anywhere, but they occur mainly along fault lines (planar or curved fractures in the rocks of Earth’s crust), where compressional or tensional forces move rocks on opposite sides of a fracture. Faults extend from a few centimetres to many hundreds of kilometres. In addition, most of the world’s earthquakes occur within the Ring of Fire, a long horseshoe-shaped belt of earthquake epicentres, volcanoes, and tectonic plate boundaries fringing the Pacific basin.

Related Questions

• Why is an earthquake dangerous?
• What are earthquake waves?
• How is earthquake magnitude measured?