Where can I find current earthquake lists and maps for the world or for a specific area?
The Earthquake Hazards Program Latest Earthquakes Map displays earthquakes in near-realtime and up to the past 30 days of earthquakes. The interface includes three panels: a list of earthquakes, a map, and a settings/options panel. You can pan and zoom the map to view specific areas. Click on an event on the list or map for additional information and a link to the event page with all the details for the earthquake. The settings panel allows you to customize the interface, and then you can bookmark the resulting URL for future visits.
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Why do so many earthquakes occur at a depth of 10km? Why do so many earthquakes occur at a depth of 10km?
Ten kilometers is a "fixed depth." Sometimes data are too poor to compute a reliable depth for an earthquake. In such cases, the depth is assigned to be 10 km. Why that number? In many areas around the world, reliable depths tend to average 10 km or close to it. For example, if we made a histogram of the reliable depths in such an area, we'd expect to see a peak around 10 km. So if we don't know...
How quickly is earthquake information posted to the USGS website and sent out via the Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and other feeds? How quickly is earthquake information posted to the USGS website and sent out via the Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and other feeds?
USGS earthquake information mechanisms are all triggered by the same system, so they all receive the information at the same time. The time it takes for the system to receive the information primarily depends on the size and location of the earthquake: An earthquake in California is processed and posted to the system in 2.5 minutes (on average). This is because our seismic network is very...
Where can I see current or past seismograms? Where can I see current or past seismograms?
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has helicorders (seismogram displays) available for several areas in the United States and the World. Our research partner IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) has two applications, the Station Monitor and the Global Seismogram Viewer, for viewing seismograms. IRIS also supplies software that allows users to collect and view seismic data from...
What is UTC, and why do you report earthquakes in UTC? What is UTC, and why do you report earthquakes in UTC?
UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time, and for this purpose is the same as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Since the USGS and other seismic network agencies record earthquakes around the globe in all the various time zones, using a single standard time reference is best for record-keeping and exchange of data. The individual event pages with details about each earthquake use UTC for the reference...
Related
Why do so many earthquakes occur at a depth of 10km? Why do so many earthquakes occur at a depth of 10km?
Ten kilometers is a "fixed depth." Sometimes data are too poor to compute a reliable depth for an earthquake. In such cases, the depth is assigned to be 10 km. Why that number? In many areas around the world, reliable depths tend to average 10 km or close to it. For example, if we made a histogram of the reliable depths in such an area, we'd expect to see a peak around 10 km. So if we don't know...
How quickly is earthquake information posted to the USGS website and sent out via the Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and other feeds? How quickly is earthquake information posted to the USGS website and sent out via the Earthquake Notification Service (ENS) and other feeds?
USGS earthquake information mechanisms are all triggered by the same system, so they all receive the information at the same time. The time it takes for the system to receive the information primarily depends on the size and location of the earthquake: An earthquake in California is processed and posted to the system in 2.5 minutes (on average). This is because our seismic network is very...
Where can I see current or past seismograms? Where can I see current or past seismograms?
The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program has helicorders (seismogram displays) available for several areas in the United States and the World. Our research partner IRIS (Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology) has two applications, the Station Monitor and the Global Seismogram Viewer, for viewing seismograms. IRIS also supplies software that allows users to collect and view seismic data from...
What is UTC, and why do you report earthquakes in UTC? What is UTC, and why do you report earthquakes in UTC?
UTC stands for Coordinated Universal Time, and for this purpose is the same as GMT (Greenwich Mean Time). Since the USGS and other seismic network agencies record earthquakes around the globe in all the various time zones, using a single standard time reference is best for record-keeping and exchange of data. The individual event pages with details about each earthquake use UTC for the reference...