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Earthquakes

Lucy Jones is among the world's most influential seismologists—and perhaps the most recognizable.

Meet Lucy Jones, “the Earthquake Lady”

As part of her plan to prepare Americans for the next “big one,” the seismologist tackles the dangerous phenomenon of denial

A 19th-century print of New Madrid earthquake chaos.

The Great Midwest Earthquake of 1811

Two hundred years ago, a series of powerful temblors devastated what is now Missouri. Could it happen again?

The 5.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Washington, D.C. on August 23 caused damage to the Washington Monument.

Scaling the Washington Monument

Mountaineering park ranger Brandon Latham talks about how engineers investigated the monument from hundreds of feet above the ground

The contiguous bedrock on the east coast allows energy to pass more efficiently and travel farther. That is why the earthquake on Tuesday was felt over such a broad geographic range.

Q&A: Smithsonian’s Elizabeth Cottrell on the Virginia Earthquake

A Smithsonian geologist offers her expertise on the seismic event that shook much of the mid-Atlantic this week

A circa 1925 woodcut by Unpo Takashima depicts Tokyo's Ueno district ablaze. "Each new gust of wind," reported Joseph Dahlmann, a Jesuit priest who witnessed the calamity from a hilltop, "gave new impulse to the fury of the conflagration."

The Great Japan Earthquake of 1923

The powerful quake and ensuing tsunami that struck Yokohama and Tokyo traumatized a nation and unleashed historic consequences

Frederick Eugene Ives' photochromoscopy plates "are perhaps the first color photographs of San Francisco.

The 1906 San Francisco Quake in Color

Recently discovered photographs depict the aftermath of the devastating California earthquake in a new light

Mint superintendent Frank Leach, who had no experience fighting fires, led the crew that saved the vaults—earning him promotion to director.

Grace Under Fire

As San Francisco burned, 100 years ago this month, a hardy band of men worked feverishly to save the city’s mint—and with it, the U.S. economy

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