Ahoy! Let’s Think! Today we answer the question “what is an earthquake?” An earthquake is when the surface of the earth shakes or quakes, hence the name earthquake. So what exactly causes this phenomenon? First we take a look at the surface or crust of the Earth. As you can see, the Earth’s surface is not one smooth layer but is actually made of many different sections called tectonic plates. Although we cannot feel it, these plates are continuously moving. When the edges of the tectonic plates collide, they may stick and cause friction. As the rough edges stick together, the rest of the plate continues to move storing up energy and causing stress. Over time, the stress becomes too great and the stored up energy releases outward. Rocks break and the crust cracks and becomes displaced causing the Earth to shake. You can see this happen when you force two incompatible puzzle pieces together. The pieces will never fit together and after enough force is applied, they will eventually bend or the edges will break off. Other ways an earthquake can occur is through a volcanic eruption! Since plates are constantly moving, there are hundreds of earthquakes that occur daily. We don’t always feel them as a majority of them are very small. The strength or magnitude helps us determine how big an earthquake is. Usually anything below a Magnitude of 2 is small enough that we won’t feel it. The largest recorded earthquake was the Great Chilean Earthquake which had a magnitude of about 9.5. The earthquake rupture zone stretched almost 1000 km or over 620 miles on the coast of Chile and caused a tsunami that was able to reach as far as New Zealand, Japan and the Philippines. Although earthquakes may seem highly destructive, there are some positives to them. They help us understand what is happening below the Earths surface and natural occurring earthquakes can create mountains and make new seafloors. Without earthquakes, our planet would look very different from how it is today. So that answers the question what is an earthquake. That took some thinking! If you have any questions you would like answered leave a comment below! #WhatIsAnEarthquake #NaturalDisasters #EarthquakeCauses - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Subscribe to Thinking Captain on YouTube: https://bit.ly/ThinkingCaptain We have a TON of interesting educational content like these videos about animals! https://bit.ly/ThinkingCaptainAnimals Or maybe you just want to learn about Natural Disasters!? https://bit.ly/ThinkingCaptainNaturalDisasters Or maybe you are just brand new and want to watch all the cool stuff? https://bit.ly/ThinkingCaptainNew