Earthquakes
Location
Earthquakes are mainly found along the boundaries of Tectonic plates are a set of adjacent, slow-moving plates which make up the Earth's crust. as shown on the map above. There is a band of earthquakes, known as the An area of active volcanoes located around the Pacific Ocean., which runs all the way around the Pacific Ocean, passing through a number of countries, eg Japan.
The west coasts of North and South America are in earthquake zones as is the An area of volcanoes in the centre of the Atlantic Ocean. and the southern Mediterranean around Turkey and Italy.
The main features of earthquakes
Causes of earthquakes
Earthquakes are caused by the sudden movement of the tectonic plates which make up the The outer shell of the surface of the planet.. When tectonic plates slide past one another friction builds up and they 'stick', which leads to a build-up of pressure.
Eventually the forces become too great and the The rocks which make up the earth's crust. snap apart. This sudden movement of the earth is what we call an earthquake.