Are earthquakes more common than we think?

Question

I live in the pacific northwest and on some days, I can feel moderate shaking usually when I'm sitting at my desk. Is this is a small earthquake or am I being paranoid?

Answer 1

earthquakes happen hundreds to thousands of times a day. the tectonic plates under the earth are almost constantly shifting and causing friction which is what earth quakes are. but that might not be what you're feeling. check with your local earthquake center for details.

Answer 2

In Japan where the whole island (country) sits on the fault line, small earthquakes happen several times a day. Most of these cannot be felt by most people as they are very minute and other causes of vibrations such as wind pushing against wall, cars going by, constructions near by, etc, causes far greater deflections.

It's hard to say if what you are feeling are actual earthquakes. You may just be too sensitive or mistaking other causes of vibrations for earthquakes.

Answer 3

Here's a link to recent earthquakes in the Pacific NW.
http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsus/Maps/US10/42.52.-125.-115.php
As you can see, there are weekly, even daily, quakes--most of them quite small. You may be more sensitive to motion than most people. If your desk in on a second floor, or higher, perhaps your building is amplifying ground motion. On the other hand, you could also be interpreting slight shaking from passing trucks, etc., as small quakes.

Answer 4

I guess to elaborate on what the others have said, yes earthquakes happen all the time.. also important to consider is that sometimes they can be of anthropogenic (man-made) origin such as blasting related to mine exploration. (I live within a few km of a quarry and our house shakes mildly when they blast).

Answer 5

There are literally hundreds of earthquakes all over the world every day. Whether or not they are big is another matter.

Check out http://quake.wr.usgs.gov and check out daily earthquakes in your area.

Answer 6

actually earthquakes are very common. usually they are nothing worth mentioning, but they do occur quite often. Whether or not that is what you are feeling is beyond me, but to answer your Q, yes they are very common.