GEOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Earthquakes occur along faults, which are fractures between blocks of rock that allow the blocks to move relative to one another. Faults are caused by the bumping and sliding that plates do and are more common near the edges of the plates.

Detailed explanation-2: -Megathrust faults cause the most significant magnitude earthquakes and commonly cause tsunamis. “Reverse Faults” by the United States Geologic Survey is licensed under Public Domain. Strike-slip faults have a side-to-side motion.

Detailed explanation-3: -Over 80 per cent of large earthquakes occur around the edges of the Pacific Ocean, an area known as the ‘Ring of Fire’; this where the Pacific plate is being subducted beneath the surrounding plates. The Ring of Fire is the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.

Detailed explanation-4: -Faults are features in the Earth’s crust where rock periodically breaks and moves, releasing seismic energy and creating an earthquake.