Earthquake Hot Spots Pinpointed -- MrC

Dec 29, 2012, 07:25 PM

The Ring of Fire is well-known for its volcanoes, but this Pacific rim arc of tectonic activity is also a region of huge earthquakes. Scientists have discovered that the largest of these earthquakes often occur on faults that lie close to subducting plate boundaries. Some of the largest earthquakes only occur every few hundred or thousands of years and fall into what is called a "supercycle" of earthquake activity.