The largest earthquake ever recorded was a magnitude 9.5 in Chile back in 1960.
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The 2011 earthquake near Japan increased the Earth's rotation speed, shortening the day by 1.8 microseconds.
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There are about 500,000 detectable earthquakes in the world each year. 100,000 of those can be felt, and 100 of them cause damage.
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About 90% of the world's earthquakes occur along the Ring of Fire, an area in the basin of the Pacific Ocean.
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Since 1900, there have been an average of 18 major earthquakes and one great earthquake per year.
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Inca architecture was built to be earthquake resistant. Inca masonry is effective in withstanding even major tremors.
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An earthquake on Dec. 16, 1811 caused parts of the Mississippi River to flow backwards.
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Mount Everest shrank one inch (2.5 cm) due to the 2015 earthquake in Nepal.
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In 132 AD, a Chinese inventor built a seismograph which, at the moment of an earthquake, expelled a copper ball out of the mouth of a dragon and into the mouth of a frog.
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Southern California has about 10,000 earthquakes each year, though most are so small that they are never felt.
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The world's deadliest recorded earthquake occurred in 1556 in China, killing an estimated 830,000 people.
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Hawaii's largest-ever earthquake occurred in 1868 and the aftershocks are still being observed.
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The largest recorded earthquake in the U.S. was a magnitude 9.2 that struck Prince William Sound, Alaska in 1964.
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After an 8.0 magnitude earthquake hit Mexico City in 1985, nearly all newborn babies survived a collapsed hospital for 7 days without nourishment, water, warmth or human contact.
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Earthquakes turn water into gold.
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In Greek mythology, Poseidon was the cause and god of earthquakes. In Japanese mythology, Namazu is a giant catfish who causes earthquakes.
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According to studies, melting glaciers and rising sea levels disturb the balance of pressure on Earth's tectonic plates, causing increase in the frequency and intensity of earthquakes.
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The world has
2 earthquakes every minute.
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Tokyo has been destroyed from earthquakes and tsunamis from 1608 to 1945, on average, once every five years.
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