How to Check Recent Earthquake Occurrences Anywhere in the World

Earthquakes occur along fault lines.

If you're interested in the dynamic nature of our planet, up-to-the-minute reports on earthquake occurrences around the world may also pique your curiosity. The U.S. Geological Survey offers this information to the public through its website. The site gives information not only on where temblors occur, but also the time they occur and their magnitude.

Things You'll Need

• computer with access to the internet

Instructions

1. Log onto the Internet, and navigate to the U.S. Geological Survey's Earthquake Hazards Program website. A link is provided in the References section.

2. Notice the two maps -- one a U.S. map and the other a world map -- on the home page. Both contain colored squares of various sizes marking the epicenter of where recent activity has occurred. Larger squares indicate earthquakes of greater magnitude than smaller squares do. Red squares indicate activity that has occurred in the last hour, blue within the last day and yellow within the last week. Click on the map that contains the location in which you're interested. This will make the map larger on your screen.

3. Click again on the map, this time on the location within the map in which you'd like to review. This will zoom in on the area. Click again to further zoom in. Click on the colored square marking the area in which you're most interested. This will bring up data regarding the quake such as its magnitude, depth and closest cities.

Tips & Warnings

• The Earthquake Hazards Program website also contains much more earthquake information about regional seismic hazards and earthquakes in general. Explore the site to learn more about these natural events.

References

• U.S. Geological Survey: Earthquake Hazards Program