The article has been updated successfully.How do I interpret magnitudes and magnitude types?
Earthquake Magnitude DescriptionsMagnitudes can be based on any of the following:
Mw - estimates of the seismic moment
Mb - maximum amplitudes of teleseismic body waves
Ms - surface waves
Ml - local recordings
Md - signal duration
Q: What are the earthquake magnitude classes?
A:
Great; M > =8
Major; 7 < =M < 7.9
Strong; 6 < = M < 6.9
Moderate: 5 < =M < 5.9
Light: 4 < =M < 4.9
Minor: 3 < =M < 3.9
Micro: M < 3
More Information
The USGS website has a FAQs section that answers some common questions about earthquakes and how they are measured: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/faq/
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Last Updated
29th of January, 2010
