Earthquakes

by Avneet Arora, your Science Captain

Did you feel the earthquake? Do you know what an earthquake is? A few weeks ago on 22nd September 2021, Victoria was hit with it’s largest earthquake with a magnitude of 4.9! Which is pretty high, considering the fact that Victoria or Australia in general doesn't have many earthquakes!

To start us off, for those who don’t know what an earthquake is; an earthquake occurs when tectonic plates (plate tectonics) collide into each other and cause a sudden movement along the Earth. The three main ways an earthquake can occur are; Volcanic eruption, Tectonic movement and a Man made fault.

Now that you know how earthquakes occur or can happen, do you know what caused the great Victorian earthquake? According to experts, it is said that our earthquake was caused by Australia’s tectonic plates colliding with another plate known as the Pacific plate in the Pacific Ocean.

Have you ever heard of ‘The ring of fire’? Over 80% of the world’s largest earthquakes occur in that area, the ring of fire is located near the edge of the pacific ocean. The ring of fire is known as the most seismically and volcanically active zone in the world.

Lastly, time for fun facts! The biggest earthquake in the world was the Valdivia Earthquake, with a magnitude of 9.5!! It is also known as the ‘Great Chilean Earthquake’, it occured on 22nd May 1960. The cause of the ‘Great Chilean Earthquake’ was a sudden breaking in rocks along a 1,000km stretch of the Nazca Plate. This earthquake caused an Earthquake Tsunami, which occurs most likely with underwater earthquakes, regarding underwater tectonic plate movement. Over the past 7-8 days Victoria has recorded ten aftershocks of the earthquake!

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