Earthquake Facts

 This pic was taken after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe, Japan

The largest recorded earthquake in the world was a magnitude 9.5 (Mw) in Chile on May 22, 1960.
The earliest reported earthquake in California was felt in 1769 by the exploring expedition of Gaspar de Portola
Most earthquakes occur at depths of less than 80 km (50 miles) from the Earth’s surface.
It is estimated that there are 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.
Moonquakes (“earthquakes” on the moon) do occur, but they happen less frequently and have smaller magnitudes
than earthquakes on the Earth.
The first “pendulum seismoscope” to measure the shaking of the ground during an earthquake was developed in 1751.
The world’s deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1556 in central China.