Types of earthquakes

There are many different types of earthquakes: tectonic, volcanic, and explosion. The type of earthquake depends on the region where it occurs and the geological make-up of that region. The most common are tectonic earthquakes. These occur when rocks in the earth's crust break due to geological forces created by movement of tectonic plates. Another type,volcanic earthquakes, occur in conjunction with volcanic activity. Collapse earthquakes are small earthquakes in underground caverns and mines, and explosion earthquakes result from the explosion of nuclear and chemical devices. We can measure motion from large tectonic earthquakes using GPS because rocks on either side of a fault are offset during this type of earthquake.


What are earthquakes? Types of earthquakes Forces What causes stress? Elasticity Waves Detection and recording Measurement A new type of measurement

Earthquake activities

Last modified on 8/13/98 by Maggi Glasscoe (scignedu@jpl.nasa.gov)