Earthquake in England

Earthquake in England Thousands were woken in the early hours of the morning, due to houses shaking, and, in some cases, tiles and bricks falling off their houses onto the pavement and cars.

The earthquake was 5.2/5.3 on the Richter scale, and is the second most powerful earthquake in English history.

The cause of the quake is said to be associated with a fault line, and that it is uncommon, as most earthquakes happen on Plate boundaries, but sometimes fault lines.
Earthquakes are to do with a sudden jerk or movement between cracks in the earth's crust. Occasionally, these bits of crust get jammed while moving past each other. Pressure builds up over time, and then it moves very suddenly. This sends a tremor through the Earth's crust.

Usually these pieces of crust are Tectonic Plates, and the eight main plates are:

  • The African Plate
  • The Eurasian Plate - England lies on this plate
  • The Australian Plate
  • The Antarctic Plate
  • The North American Plate
  • The South American Plate
  • The Pacific Plate
  • The Nazca Plate

The quake lasted about 10 seconds.

The epicenter was located in Lincolnshire, about 205 km (125 miles) North of London. The aftershock occurred at about 4am - this measuring about 1.8 on the Richter Scale.

The tremor could be felt all over England, and also in Wales. Although this was the most powerful tremor for about 20 years, It is only the second most powerful in English history. The most powerful recorded earthquake in England was ten times more powerful than this, and also created a small tsunami.

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