It is not a matter of size: a tsunami is very different from an ordinary wave. A tsunami wave is not wind-driven but is usually caused by an earthquake or landslide. They have a much longer wavelength, and so carry far more water than an ordinary wave of similar height. In open ocean a tsunami may be a couple feet high an hundreds of miles long, becoming higher in the shallow water near shore. While a storm wave washes in and out in a matter of seconds, a tsunami comes in as a continuous surge for several minutes.
The actual Richter scale reading from all parts of Northern Japan was NEVER more than 6.6 until the NOAA came in and changed all the data and moved the actual site of the earthquake 50 to 100 miles north. All the data is online and can still be found for why they had a nearly impossibly sized EQ in that area. Even a retired French military Colonel commented about how "Unnatural" it was and threatened the united states on his blog 'Not to try that in France' or there would be serious trouble.' I recommend googleing 'Jim Stone on Fukushima'. His evidence is striking and solid and everything he says CAN be found on the net to back up his claims. Try you tube or visit his site. TAKE THE TIME TO RESEARCH THIS CAREFULLY...it's one of the biggest untold stories of the Japan quake, and likely of all time!
Tsunamis are not measured on the Richter scale. Wavelength is the scale by which tsunamis are measured. A tsunami is a very long-wavelength wave of water that is generated by sudden displacement of the seafloor or disruption of any body of standing water. They are not always earthquake related.
Great Hanshin earthquake or Kobe earthquake on January 17, 1995 was measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale (this replaced 1930s-era Richter magnitude scale).
The largest earthquake that occurred off the coast of Japan on March 11, 2011 was originally calculated as magnitude 8.9 on the Richter scale, but changed to 9.0 independently by both USGS and Japanese seismologists.
According to the USGS:
"This magnitude places the earthquake as the fourth largest in the world since 1900 and the largest in Japan since modern instrumental recordings began 130 years ago"
Japan's earthquake had an 8.9 on the Richter scale but we count it as a 9.0 magnitude.
The earthquake was a magnitude 9.0
6.6
No. The Richter's scale measures the magnitude or intensity of an earthquake on a scale up to ten.
Charles Richter made it so it can measure the size of an earthquake.
6.5
japan a 7.1
it was a 2.2 earthquake :written by luis bento
9.0
The scale used to measure the strength of an earthquake is called the Richter scale
No. The Richter's scale measures the magnitude or intensity of an earthquake on a scale up to ten.
The Haiti earthquake measured around 7.0 on the Richter Scale.
8.9 on the Richter scale.
PAGASA used richter scale to measure the intensity of an earthquake
The Richter scale expresses the relative magnitude of an earthquake, which is a measure of the energy released at the focus of an earthquake.
richter scale
The March 11, 2011 earthquake was originally measured at magnitude 8.9, but later upgraded to 9.0 by both USGS and Japan scientists.
Charles Richter made it so it can measure the size of an earthquake.
9.1 on the Richter Scale.
8.5