Predominantly due to friction. Major earthquakes (the ones you hear about on the news) occur at collision (where two tectonic plates are smashing together) and conservative (where two plates slide side-by-side) boundaries.
Rocks (which obviously make up tectonic plates) can undergo two types of deformation, ductile (or plastic) and brittle. When you put stress on these rocks, which happens when they rub against each other, they will usually undergo ductile deformation providing the stress is constant and fairly low. If you've ever been to a big mountain range like the Himalaya, you'll see folds in the rocks. This is ductile deformation.
Earthquakes occur when the stress reaches a point called the rupture point. When this point is reached, the rocks will not fold and twist, they'll simply break and energy is released, an earthquake. In plate tectonics, this happens in the Wadati-Benioff Zone (in collision boundaries).
The best illustration for this ductile/brittle deformation process is using one of those plastic rulers found in schools around the world (Staedtler type). You can bend the ruler and it will actually bend quite a long way. However, it will reach a critical point where it will stop bending and just snap, releasing energy in the process. This energy is effectively the same as seismic waves in earthquakes (albeit on a much smaller scale) that will cause material around it to vibrate. Big enough vibrations = buildings collapse.
Source: geography teacher and geology graduate.
Faults DO NOT produce earthquakes, faults are produced by earthquakes. This means that earthquake loci are centered on and along faults. The energy released by an earthquake is the stress energy built up as a result of plate tectonic forces.
Earth is made up of many tectonic plates. When these plates shift, earthquakes happen. The tectonic plates are always moving, but most of the earthquakes are tremors (depends on how close you are to the place the tectonic plates are shifting).
the shut up
Earthquakes are caused by Earth's Tectonic movements.. Volcano is caused by the movement of molten lava inside Earth..
Tectonic activities are processes related to the movement and deformation of the Earth's crust. This includes activities such as plate tectonics, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and mountain building. These activities are driven by the movement of tectonic plates and can result in the formation of various geologic features.
Faults DO NOT produce earthquakes, faults are produced by earthquakes. This means that earthquake loci are centered on and along faults. The energy released by an earthquake is the stress energy built up as a result of plate tectonic forces.
the tectonic plates shake under the earth causing earthquakes
The two main types of earthquakes are tectonic and volcanic. Tectonic earthquakes occur along fault lines when tectonic plates move. Volcanic earthquakes occur near volcanoes due to the movement of magma beneath the surface. Tectonic earthquakes are more common and are caused by the Earth's tectonic plates shifting, while volcanic earthquakes are associated with volcanic activity.
uranus is a gas giant. Gas giants lack the tectonic plates (rocky plates floating on top of a molten core) necessary to have earthquakes. Only rocky planets which have tectonic plates can have earthquakes.
Tectonic earthquakes are more common than volcanic earthquakes. Tectonic earthquakes are caused by the shifting and breaking of rocks in the Earth's crust along tectonic plate boundaries, whereas volcanic earthquakes are associated with volcanic activity and occur as magma moves beneath the surface.
Most earthquakes occur at the boundaries of the tectonic plates. Tectonic plates are always in motion, and when two of them collide with one another it causes earthquakes.
Yes. Southern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands border a subduction zone, where one tectonic plate slides under another. This subduction zone has produced some of the most powerful Earthquakes on Earth.
well there can be earthquakes anywhere in the world because of the tectonic plates
The three types of earthquakes are tectonic earthquakes, volcanic earthquakes, and collapse earthquakes. Tectonic earthquakes are the most common and are caused by the movement of earth's plates. Volcanic earthquakes occur in association with volcanic activity, while collapse earthquakes happen in underground mines and caverns.
Earthquakes
the tectonic plates
Tectonic plates.