Earthquakes mostly originate from the plate boundaries. There are two main belts where the possibility of the occurrence of an earthquake is the largest. Distribution of Earthquakes in the World have been discussed below
Distribution of Earthquakes in the World
The Circum Pacific Mountain Belt: The regions lying in this belt are Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia and California in USA. About 70% of earthquakes originate in this zone.
The Midway Mountain Belt: This belt extends from Eastern Europe to Asia. It covers the Alpine and Himalayan regions. About 20% of earthquakes originate in this zone.
The remaining 10% of earthquakes are associated with submarine ridges, ocean floors, rift valleys and other fault zones.
India is located in the Mid-Mountain Belt. The regions in India which are highly prone to earthquakes are Kashmir, the foothills of the Himalayas, the Northeastern region and the Rann of Kachchh.
Earthquakes frequently take place in the foothills of the Himalayas and the Ganga Brahmaputra valley as these are the regions where the tectonic plates meet. Maharashtra is also prone to earthquakes.
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