Can earthquakes occur anywhere?
Earthquakes have occurred in all 50 of the United States. Even in so-called ‘inactive’ regions like the Gulf Coast of Texas most locations will experience small (M ~ 3.0) earthquakes every 100 years or so. For example, an earthquake with magnitude 3.8 occurred on 24 March 1997 near Alice, Texas, about 60 km west of Corpus Christi. This was the first earthquake known in this region in historic times. Q: Can a volcano cause earthquakes? A: Most earthquakes have nothing to do with volcanoes; however, numerous small earthquakes do occur in association with most volcanoes. In the Mount Saint Helens eruption of 1980, the main eruption began with an earthquake and an accompanying landslide. Presumably the movement of magma produced stresses responsible for both the earthquake and the main eruption. Q: Can an earthquake cause a volcano? A: Most earthquakes have nothing to do with volcanoes; however, small earthquakes often accompany volcanic activity. Scientists who try to forecast volcanic ac
