Why are there so many earthquakes in Yellowstone?

Earthquakes occur along fractures in the crust where stress from crustal plate movement and volcanic activity build to a significant level. The rock along these faults becomes so strained that eventually it slips or breaks. read more

So the depth and style of earthquake is important to understanding if the earthquakes are volcanic (ie, related to magma), or if the earthquakes are a side effect of there being a volcano there. For the majority of the Yellowstone earthquakes, these are shallow earthquakes related to movement of groundwater and are a side effect of the presence of the volcano. read more

Yellowstone commonly experiences “earthquake swarms”—a series of earthquakes over a short period of time in a localized area. The largest swarm occurred in 1985, with more than 3,000 earthquakes recorded during three months on the northwest side of the park. read more

The Ring of Fire has 452 volcanoes andis home to over 75% of the world's active and dormant. Anotherreason why Japan has so many earquakes is because there are so manydifferent tectonic plates (layers of the earth's crust) underneathit and each plate keeps rubbing with the other plates. read more