Water and earthquakes, while two seemingly separate subjects, do interact, as evidenced by the great many earthquakes during the last decade in themid-continental USA induced by the injection of toxic wastewater co-produced from hydrocarbon extraction.

In 1969, when I was a student in California, there was a rash of predictions from astrologers, clairvoyants, and evangelists that there would be a devastating earthquake and the entire state—or at least a large part of it—would fall into the ocean. The seers claimed this would happen during April, although they were not in agreement about the precise date.

Geologists, also known as Geoscientists, are trying to understand the constitution of the earth. The surficial portion, which is directly visible to the geologists, is made up more of water bodies (the seas, the oceans, and the lakes, together constitute nearly 2/3rds of the entire surface of the earth) than the land masses (Africa, America, Asia etc.). Large area of land around the north and the southpoles, is covered with a thick blanket of ice sheet, throughout the year.

Macroseismic effects of the principal earthquakes occurring in the United States from 1568 through 1989 are described. Principal earthquakes are defined as those of Modified Mercalli intensity > VI or Richter magnitude > 4.5. Exceptions are the State of Alaska and the offshore areas of California, Oregon, and Washington, where the magnitude cutoff is > 5.5.