Maanjäristyksen

Maanjäristys is the Finnish word for earthquake. It refers to the sudden shaking of the ground caused by the movement of tectonic plates beneath the Earth's surface. These plates are large, rigid slabs of rock that make up the Earth's lithosphere and are constantly in motion. When stress builds up along the boundaries of these plates, it can be suddenly released, generating seismic waves that travel through the Earth.

The point where the earthquake originates is called the focus or hypocenter, which is located underground. The point directly above the focus on the Earth's surface is known as the epicenter. The intensity of shaking is typically strongest at the epicenter and decreases with distance. The magnitude of an earthquake is measured using scales like the Richter scale or the moment magnitude scale, which quantify the energy released.

Maanjäristykset can vary greatly in strength, from minor tremors that are barely felt to catastrophic events that can cause widespread destruction. The effects of an earthquake can include ground shaking, surface rupture, landslides, tsunamis (if the earthquake occurs under the ocean), and liquefaction, where saturated soil temporarily loses strength and behaves like a liquid. While Finland is not located on a major tectonic plate boundary and is considered to be in a seismically quiet zone, minor earth tremors do occur there occasionally, often attributed to glacial rebound or crustal adjustments.