I understand there are some very active faults in the earth which move more than others but why is this? As a UK resident i recall 5 or so years back that we had a minor tremor which was huge news nationally. Why are some more active and violent than others and are earthquakes impacted or made more common by climate change?
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The Earth’s surface is made up of huge sheets of (essentially) rock known as “tectonic plates.” These plates float on a semi-solid layer of magma, and they move around a bit. The areas where these plates rub up against one another are called “faults.” The tectonic plates rubbing against one another is what creates earthquakes (as well as mountain ranges). There are little faults all over the place, so you can get an earthquake pretty much anywhere, but earthquakes, especially severe ones, are much more common near major faults. For example one of the largest faults in the world, the [San Andreas Fault](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Aerial-SanAndreas-CarrizoPlain.jpg) is in California, which has a number of major earthquakes.
We actually experience earthquakes all the time, it’s just that the vast majority are too small to feel. Earthquakes are rated in strength on something known as the Richter scale, which goes from 1 to 10; generally you cannot feel an earthquake that is under a 3. Earthquakes with a magnitude of 1 or 2 on the Richter scale happen hundreds of times a day, all across the planet, it’s just that they are too small for you to notice.
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