Prelims · 3 Physical & World Geography · 3.2 Interior of the Earth and plate tectonics

3.2.6 Earthquakes: focus, epicentre, magnitude and intensity scales and world belts

An earthquake is the shaking of the Earth when energy stored in rocks is suddenly released, usually by slip along a fault; its size is measured by magnitude (energy) and its effect by intensity (damage), and most earthquakes occur along plate boundaries.

  • APPSC Group 2 · Prelims
  • Standard level
  • 9 min read
  • Full course

Key terms

  • earthquake
  • focus
  • hypocentre
  • epicentre
  • fault
  • elastic rebound
  • Richter scale
  • moment magnitude
  • Mercalli scale
  • intensity
  • tectonic
  • volcanic
  • collapse
  • explosion
  • reservoir-induced
  • Koyna
  • Circum-Pacific belt
  • Alpide belt
  • seismic zones

What this note covers

  1. Core factsFoundation
  2. ExplainedStandard
  3. DeeperAdvanced
  4. Mains writingMains writing
  5. Common trapsFoundation
  6. Quick revisionFoundation

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