Earthquakes in the UK
The UK is not thought to be associated with earthquakes, despite this around twenty to thirty earthquakes are felt by people each year, and a few hundred smaller ones are recorded by sensitive instruments. These earthquakes that are felt and/or recorded often cause minimal if no damage, however some earthquakes that have occurred in Britain have caused significant damage, but not on the scale and size as other earthquakes in other parts of the world.

The Largest * Largest known British earthquake, in the proximity of the Dogger Bank in 1931, which recordered a magnitude of 6.1 * 60 miles offshore, still powerful enough to cause minor damage to buildings on the east coast of England. * Most damaging UK earthquake- Colchester area in 1884., at least 1200 buildings needed at least repairing, chimneys collapsed and walls were cracked.

How often? - How large? * A magnitude 4 earthquake roughly every two years. * The Uk experiences a magnitude 5 roughly every 10-20 years. * Research proposes the largest earthquake the UK receives is 6.5 Magnitude

Where do they occur? * A map of earthquake activity in the UK shows a number of regional patterns * Most occur on the west side of the Britain * Earthquakes are almost unheard of from East Scotland and North East England. * Ireland is also almost completely free of earthquakes * The North Sea is more active than the mainland.

Why do we get earthquakes in Britain?
The Earth under our feet has many faults caused by our turbulent geological past. Some of these faults can be observed at the surface and mapped by geologists, others are hidden many kilometres below the surface. These faults are places where earthquakes can occur. The driving forces for earthquake activity in the UK are unclear; however they include regional compression caused by motion of the Earth’s tectonic plates, and uplift resulting from the melting of the ice sheets that covered many parts of Britain thousands of years ago.