Where the Ground Shook in 1997

were 17 major earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 or higher in the world in 1997, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. This is lower than the average of 20 major earthquakes per year. But the earthquakes caused more people to lose their lives in 1997 than in the year before.

1996, 449 people were reported to be killed by earthquakes around the world. The total number of people reported killed by earthquakes in 1997 was 2,913. The worst earthquake of 1997 was in northern Iran on May 10. It was a 7.1 magnitude quake and it caused 1,567 deaths, 2,300 injuries and left 50,000 people homeless.

strongest earthquake in the U.S. was a 4.9 magnitude earthquake that struck the state of Washington. It caused slight damage to the towns of Bremerton and Poulsbo.

biggest earthquake of 1997 was a magnitude 7.9 earthquake that struck on November 8 in Tibet. The area does not have many people and did not cause very much damage.

people believe the world is having more earthquakes now than in the past, but the scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey say that is not true. They say the number of major earthquakes of 7.0 or higher magnitude have remained the same throughout this century. It may seem like there are more earthquakes because communication and monitoring is better now and the public learns about the quakes.

U.S. Geological Survey estimates that several million earthquakes happen around the world every year, but many of them go undetected because they are in remote areas or are very small.