Earthquakes

Magnitude 5+ Earthquakes - Global

5.6 Earthquake hits Antofagasta, Chile.

5.2 Earthquake hits southern Sumatra, Indonesia.

5.1 Earthquake hits south of Bali.

5.0 Earthquake hits the South Sandwich Islands.

Japan Earthquake & Tsunami of 2011: Amazing facts

Here are some of the amazing facts about the Japan earthquake and tsunami.

The earthquake shifted Earth on its axis of rotation by redistributing mass, like putting a dent in a wobbling top.

The temblor also shortened the length of day by about a microsecond.

More than 1,000 aftershocks have hit Japan since the earthquake, the largest a magnitude 7.9.

About 250 miles (400 km) of Japan's northern Honshu coastline dropped by 2 feet (0.6 meters). The jolt moved Japan's main island of Honshu eastward by 8 feet (2.4 meters).

The Pacific Plate slid westward near the epicenter by 79 feet (24 m).

In Antarctica, the seismic waves from the earthquake sped up the Whillans Ice Stream, jolting it by about 1.5 feet (0.5 meters).

The tsunami broke icebergs off the Sulzberger Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

As the tsunami crossed the Pacific Ocean, a 5-foot high (1.5 m) high wave killed more than 110,000 nesting seabirds at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.

In Norway, water in some fjords pointing northeast toward Japan (up and over the pole) sloshed back and forth as seismic waves from the earthquake raced through.

The earthquake produced a low-frequency rumble called infrasound, which traveled into space and was detected by the Goce satellite.