Earthquakes

Earthquake Magnitude vs Intensity: What Is the Difference?

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Earthquake Magnitude vs Intensity: What Is the Difference?

When an earthquake makes the news, the first number you usually hear is its magnitude. A report might describe a magnitude 6.5 earthquake, for example, followed by images showing severe damage in one town but only mild shaking somewhere else. This can seem confusing. If it was the same earthquake, why did different places experience … Read more

How Earthquakes Happen: A Beginner’s Guide to a Shaking Planet

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How Earthquakes Happen: A Beginner’s Guide to a Shaking Planet

The ground feels solid, but it is never completely still. Far below our feet, enormous sections of Earth’s outer shell are slowly moving, pushing, pulling, and sliding against one another. Most of this movement is too gradual to notice. Occasionally, pressure that has accumulated for years is released in seconds, producing an earthquake. Understanding how … Read more