Most damaging earthquakes cluster along a handful of great tectonic systems. Some are subduction megathrusts winding up for a magnitude 9. Some are transform faults grinding sideways. Some are volcanic calderas where the ground itself rises and falls. Pick a zone to see what makes it tick, the earthquakes happening there now, and how to get warned before the next big one.
North America
Yellowstone
Wyoming, USA
Yellowstone’s real everyday hazard is steam, not a super-volcano.
See live activityLong Valley Caldera
Eastern California, USA
A caldera can swell and shake for forty years without erupting.
See live activityCascadia Subduction Zone
Pacific Northwest, USA and Canada
Cascadia looks calm - and that is exactly the worry.
See live activityNew Madrid Seismic Zone
Central United States
Some of America’s biggest quakes happened nowhere near a plate boundary.
See live activityOklahoma
Central United States
A state with almost no history of quakes became one of the shakiest.
See live activityMexican Pacific Coast
Middle America Trench
A strong offshore quake here is never just a dot on the map.
See live activitySan Andreas Fault
California, USA
Parts of the San Andreas creep along quietly - others are stuck fast.
See live activitySouth America
Europe
Campi Flegrei
Bay of Naples, Italy
Near Naples, the ground literally rises and falls.
See live activityReykjanes Peninsula
Southwest Iceland
Some earthquake swarms here are magma ripping the ground open.
See live activityMarmara Sea
North Anatolian Fault, Turkey
One fault has been failing westward, quake by quake, toward Istanbul.
See live activityHellenic Arc and the Aegean
Greece and Santorini
The Aegean is the most seismically active region in Europe.
See live activityAsia
Nankai Trough
Off southern Japan
Off southern Japan, the seafloor is quietly winding up for a giant.
See live activityHimalayan Front
Nepal and northern India
India is still ramming into Asia - and the Himalaya takes the strain.
See live activityTokyo and the Sagami Trough
Kanto region, Japan
Tokyo sits where three tectonic plates meet.
See live activityKamchatka and the Kuril Arc
Russian Far East
One of the busiest subduction zones on the planet - quakes and volcanoes together.
See live activityMiddle East
Oceania
Want the record for a specific place instead of a whole system? Check your earthquake and hazard risk by location, explore the Pacific Ring of Fire, or browse earthquakes by country.