

The vast majority of earthquakes are caused by sudden slip along faults, resulting in seismic waves that shake the ground, often with sufficient force to damage structures or trigger other events, such as landslides. Most earthquakes are associated with natural, dynamic processes that shape Earth’s landscape.

Thus, the earthquake process can be interesting and even frightening to people. Although earthquakes happen frequently in many parts of the world, any occurrence of a moderate to large event is sudden and unexpected.
