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Earthquakes are caused by the Earth's tectonic plates shifting against one another deep below the surface. These huge masses of rock are in constant motion, but they may lock into positions where they come into contact. When this stress is finally released, the sudden shift results in an earthquake.
they start from movement fron the earths surface
Earthquakes can happen anywhere, but are more likely in areas where the Earth's crustal "plates" are moving in relation to each other.

Earthquakes are caused by shifts in the Earth's crust, and normally occur when rock layers move past each other along a boundary, or fault line. The surface of the land, or the sea floor, can move sideways, up, or down, and this displacement causes seismic waves to move outward, above and around the shift. The motion imparted by these waves is what generates the destructive power of an earthquake, and it can also create tsunamis in the sea.

(For more information, see the related question.)
Earthquakes are always happening somewhere.Worldwide, strong earthquakes happen more than once per month. Smaller earthquakes such as magnitude 2 earthquakes occur several hundred times a day. To create a mountain system might take several million medium sized earthquakes over tens of millions of years.
Before you learn the answer, you must know the theory of plate tectonics.

Scientists believe that Earth's crust is made up of many plates that float on the asthenosphere in the mantle. (the mantle is in the Earth) To keep the planet alive, Earth's core uses convection currents to spread heat. This is the theory.

An earthquake happens when the convection current moves the plates a little. Anyway, the plates bump into each other and because there is limited space for the plates to move, the keep on building pressure on what it is pressing or bumping upon. When so much pressure builds up, I think it is called elastic rebound, happens and all the pressure is released in the form of seismic waves. That is the earthquake.

So, basically, and earthquake happens when one plate collides into another and it sends seismic waves around that shake the ground.

Earthquakes occur when there's movement of the tectonic plates of our Earth. Scientists are as yet not certain if volcanoes cause earthquakes or if earthquakes cause volcanoes, but they often occur together.

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This describes the effects of subduction, where one plate (usually of a closing ocean's floor) is being forced down below another. The earthquakes are the shock-waves from each slip forwards of the sinking plate. The accompanying volcanoes are of material from a mass of plate already partly-melted in the process. So neither volcano nor earthquake causes the other: both result from plate subduction.

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Volcanoes themselves can produce minor, local tremors as rising magma prior to an eruption, expands them.

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6y ago
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8y ago

When plates of crust move. There are 3 types of movings. Convergent,divergent and slip pass

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8y ago

Earthquakes occur where two plates bang up against each other and do not slide along each other smoothly. There are many earthquake-prone areas across the world.

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Q: When do earthquakes occur?
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What biome do earthquakes occur in?

The lithosphere is where earthquakes occur.


What plate boundary do earthquakes occur?

Earthquakes occur at all plate boundaries.


Do most earthquakes occur around earthquake valley?

Please more specific, as earthquakes occur worldwide.


Do earthquakes only occur in the daytime?

No they can occur at anytime.


Why does a tsunami follow a earthquakes?

earthquakes normally cause tsunamis to occur

Related questions

What biome do earthquakes occur in?

The lithosphere is where earthquakes occur.


What plate boundary do earthquakes occur?

Earthquakes occur at all plate boundaries.


Do volcanoes occur in oceans and earthquakes occur on land?

Earthquakes and volcanoes both occur in land and ocean. =)


Do most earthquakes occur on fault lines?

Most earthquakes do occur on fault lines.


Do earthquakes occur as earth's plates collide?

Yes that is generally where most earthquakes occur


What regions do earthquakes mostly occur?

earthquakes usually occur at tectonic plate boundaries


Where do the worlds earthquakes occur around?

Most earthquakes occur where the edges of Earth's plates are.


What must be passed for earthquakes to occur?

seismic unit


What geologic events occur at transform boundries?

Earthquakes


What occur along a fault?

Earthquakes occur along a fault. Near the San Andreas fault lots of earthquakes occur.


Do earthquakes occur in plate interiors?

yes earthquakes happen at all types of plate boundaries but most of them occur at destructive, collisional, and conservative plate boundaries


Where on earth do earthquakes occur?

Most earthquakes occur at or near the boundaries between tectonic plates.