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The New Madrid seismic zone (NMSZ), sometimes called the New Madrid fault line (or fault zone or fault system), is a major seismic zone and a prolific source of intraplate earthquakes (earthquakes within a tectonic plate) in the Southern and Midwestern United States, stretching to the southwest from New Madrid, Missouri.
Earthquakes are most common along fault lines, which are fractures that allow the plates to move. Earthquakes occur when two plates suddenly slip past each other, setting off seismic waves that ...
Where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of plate boundary (or fault): convergent, divergent, or transform. The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 10 cm annually. [5] Faults tend to be geologically active, experiencing earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation.
This zone of intense earthquake activity is located deep within the interior of the North American plate. An intraplate earthquake occurs in the interior of a tectonic plate, in contrast to an interplate earthquake on the boundary of a tectonic plate. [1] [2] They are relatively rare compared to the more familiar interplate earthquakes.
While earthquakes are most common along the fault lines of tectonic plates—of which there are seven major ones in the world—the seismic quakes can actually hit anywhere, at any time, according ...
An earthquake – also called a quake, tremor, or temblor – is the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity , from those so weak they cannot be felt, to those violent enough to propel objects and people into the air, damage ...
A fault plane is the plane that represents the fracture surface of a fault. A fault trace or fault line is a place where the fault can be seen or mapped on the surface. A fault trace is also the line commonly plotted on geologic maps to represent a fault. [3] [4] A fault zone is a cluster of parallel faults.
An interplate earthquake occurs at the boundary between two tectonic plates. Earthquakes of this type account for more than 90 percent of the total seismic energy released around the world. [1] If one plate is trying to move past the other, they will be locked until sufficient stress builds up to cause the plates to slip relative to each other.