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An interplate earthquake occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates. Earthquakes of this type account for more than 90 percent of the total seismic energy released around the world. [1] If one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until sufficient stress builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other.
In the Himalayan region, where the Indian plate subducts under the Eurasian plate, the largest recorded earthquake was the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake, at magnitude 8.7. It is estimated that earthquakes with magnitude 9.0 or larger are expected to occur at an interval of every 800 years, with the highest boundary being a magnitude 10, though ...
The location where two plates meet is called a plate boundary. Plate boundaries are where geological events occur, such as earthquakes and the creation of topographic features such as mountains, volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and oceanic trenches. The vast majority of the world's active volcanoes occur along plate boundaries, with the Pacific ...
Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries between tectonic plates, such as the 'Ring of Fire' around the Pacific Ocean plate. Earthquakes within a tectonic plate, like those in the eastern U.S., do ...
The New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), sometimes called the New Madrid fault line (or fault zone or fault system), is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.
This zone of intense earthquake activity is located deep within the interior of the North American plate. An intraplate earthquake occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, in contrast to an interplate earthquake on the boundary of a tectonic plate. [1] [2] They are relatively rare compared to the more familiar interplate earthquakes.
[47] [48] Massive earthquakes tend to occur along other plate boundaries too, such as along the Himalayan Mountains. [49] With the rapid growth of mega-cities such as Mexico City, Tokyo, and Tehran in areas of high seismic risk, some seismologists are warning that a single earthquake may claim the lives of up to three million people. [50]
Another notable intraslab earthquake in the Puget Sound region was the magnitude 6.8 2001 Nisqually earthquake. Intraslab earthquakes in Cascadia occur in areas where the subducting plate has high curvature. [13] Much of the seismicity that occurs off the coast of northern California is due to intraplate deformation within the Gorda plate.