Recent Earthquakes
How many earthquakes are over 6.0? Over the past one week, only one earthquake had a magnitude over 6.0.
How many between 4.5 and 6.0 over the week?There were sixty-nine earthquakes which had a magnitude of between 4.5 and 6.0.
What country outside the U.S. had the most earthquakes during this time? Provide details.Moreover, outside of the United States, the British virgin Island had the highest number of earthquakes during this period with a total of 12 earthquakes. All the earthquakes occurred within a 150km radius of Road Town in the British Virgin Islands. The earthquakes ranged in magnitude from 2.3 to 3.7 and the range of depth of the earthquakes was between 10km and 69km in depth.
Where was the most recent earthquake over 4.5? What magnitude was it? How deep was it? Is this shallow, intermediate, or deep?Explain the type of plate boundary it was near. Why are earthquakes common to this area?The most recent earthquake with a magnitude over 4.5 occurred in the Fiji Islands. It had a depth of 533.7 km and a magnitude of 5.1 it occurred at exactly 9:39 am (Coordinated Universal Time).
Based on depth, the earthquake can be classified as a deep earthquake. Earthquakes that occur at depths less than 70km are classified as shallow, while those between 70 and 300kn are referred as having an intermediate depth. Earthquakes occurring beyond 300 km and up to 700kn are said to have a deep focus. The earthquake occurred at the eastern margin of the Australian tectonic plate. This region is said to be one of the most seismically active areas in the world due to the fact that there is convergence between the Australia tectonic plate and the Pacific tectonic plates. The Australia-Pacific tectonic plate boundary is said to be 3000km long and extends from the Macquarie Island and terminates at the Kermadec Island. This stretch includes the Macquarie ridge which is an oceanic transform, the Puysegur subduction zone and the Hikurangi subduction zone; these two zones are in opposite directions (USGS, 2013).
Where was the deepest earthquake during the week? Where was the shallowest? What type of boundary were these on?The earthquake just described above was the deepest that occurred over the last one week.
The shallowest earthquake over the past one week is the one that occurred on the 30th of April 2013 42km north of Inyokern in California. It had a depth of 0.2km. The earthquake occurred near the San Andreas Fault which runs through California. This fault creates a tectonic boundary between the North American tectonic plate and the Pacific Tectonic plate.
References
USGS (2013). California Reathquake Information. USGS Science for a changing World. Earthquake Hazards Program. Retrieved on 2nd June, 2013 from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/index.php?regionID=5
USGS (2013). M5.1 - South of the Fiji Islands. USGS Science for a changing World. Earthquake Hazards Program. Retrieved on 2nd June, 2013 from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/usb000hbtf#summary
USGS (2013). M2.9 - 77km N of Road Town, British Virgin Islands. USGS Science for a changing World. Earthquake Hazards Program. Retrieved on 2nd June, 2013 from http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/pr13151008#summary
