Most earthquakes are minor tremors.
Larger earthquakes usually begin with slight tremors but rapidly take the form of one or more violent shocks, and end in vibrations of gradually diminishing force called aftershocks. The magnitude and intensity of an earthquake is determined by the use of scales, e.g., the Richter scale and the Mercalli scale. Get quality answers at the right price. Listing from Electric Library , a pay service. Copyright 2001 Infonautics Corporation .