02: Earthquakes | 10 Things You Didn’t Know About…

Duration: 59'10''

Subtitles Available

Synopsis

Iain Stewart reveals the stories and science behind some of the world's most dramatic earthquakes, including how 1960s Cold War spying gave scientists a clue to understanding them.

Further Information

More clips from 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Cascadian Fault Line | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Cascadian Fault Line | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 6'44''

Iain Stewart investigates the Cascadian Fault Line and explains what causes super-thrust earthquakes.

Cold War Rivalry | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Cold War Rivalry | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 4'11''

During the Cold War, America's use of seismometers to record Soviet nuclear tests lead to important discoveries about p...

Deadliest Earthquake in History | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Deadliest Earthquake in History | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 3'50''

Iain Stewart investigates the world's deadliest earthquake that happened in China in 1556.

Earthquake Engineering | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Earthquake Engineering | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 5'01''

Iain Stewart investigates the 1985 Mexico City earthquake and how buildings are now being engineered in Mexico to...

Predicting earthquakes in Turkey | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Predicting earthquakes in Turkey | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 4'49''

Scientists have developed a method of predicting earthquakes on the North Anatolian Fault.

The Cause: Plate Tectonics | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

The Cause: Plate Tectonics | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 1'30''

Iain Stewart explains how the earth is divided into plates and how movement between these plates produces ear...

The Moon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

The Moon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 2'01''

Earth's gravitational pull on the moon causes moonquakes, which can last for up to an hour. Iain Stewart explains why.

The San Andreas Fault | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

The San Andreas Fault | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 1'55''

Iain Stewart discusses the discovery of the San Andreas Fault and how it triggered important discoveries about wha...

More resources about Earthquake causes and effects

Japan Earthquake: A Horizon Special with Iain Stewart | Horizon

Japan Earthquake: A Horizon Special with Iain Stewart | Horizon

BBC Two | 2011 | 57'01''

Professor Iain Stewart examines the powerful geological forces that unleashed the devastating Japanese earthq...

Aftershock: The Turkey-Syria Earthquake | Panorama

Aftershock: The Turkey-Syria Earthquake | Panorama

BBC One | 2023 | 28'56''

More than 30,000 people are known to have been killed in the earthquake that devastated Turkey and Syria. Panorama asks if...

Disaster on Everest | Panorama

Disaster on Everest | Panorama

BBC One | 2015 | 29'14''

BBC reporter Tom Martienssen shares his footage of Everest taken after the devastating Nepalese earthquake. He reveals a story of an extraordi...

Plate tectonics | Volcano Live

Plate tectonics | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 3'50''

Professor Iain Stewart explains how plate tectonics cause volcanos and earthquakes.

Earthquake prediction | World's Busiest Cities

Earthquake prediction | World's Busiest Cities

BBC Two | 2017 | 2'24''

The vital importance of earthquake prediction in Mexico City.

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Volcano Live

2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 2'44''

Demonstrations of what happened to cause the earthquake and then tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004.

San Francisco Earthquake | Surviving Disaster

San Francisco Earthquake | Surviving Disaster

BBC One | 2006 | 57'54''

On 17 October 1989 a tremor measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale cause major damage to San Francisco.

Earthquake protection | World's Busiest Cities

Earthquake protection | World's Busiest Cities

BBC Two | 2017 | 3'25''

Dan Snow investigates the devastating impact that earthquakes are having on the city. He visits an organisation that save peop...

Building upwards | World's Busiest Cities

Building upwards | World's Busiest Cities

BBC Two | 2017 | 3'25''

Earthquake protection in Mexico City's building design.

The worst earthquake-triggered landslide in recorded history | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

The worst earthquake-triggered landslide in recorded history | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 3'19''

On Sunday 31 May 1970, an earthquake shook the centre of Peru, which then trigg...

Earthquakes And Seismic Waves | Short Circuit

Earthquakes And Seismic Waves | Short Circuit

BBC Two | 2009 | 18'48''

Bringing chemistry, physics and biology to life using real-life examples, 3D graphics and practical experiments.

Seismic waves | Volcano Live

Seismic waves | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 2'22''

Demonstration of the two types of seismic wave in an onland earthquake - primary and secondary.

Surviving Haiti | This World

Surviving Haiti | This World

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'05''

Filmed over the six months after the Haiti earthquake, This World follows four of the few who were rescued from a death beneath the rubble.

The Geology of Japan | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

The Geology of Japan | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 2'20''

Iain Stewart explains the geology of the tectonic plates that make up the landscapes of Japan.

The Great San Francisco Earthquake

The Great San Francisco Earthquake

Channel 4 | 2006 | 1'40'51''

This feature-length docu-drama marks the 100th anniversary of the devastating San Francisco Earthquake on April 18, 1906. Using a combinat...

Tokyo Earthquake | Q.E.D.

Tokyo Earthquake | Q.E.D.

BBC One | 1993 | 29'35''

**DISCLAIMER FROM THE BBC** Please note that there are shots of corpses in this programme, and potentially upsetting material contrasting the lives...

More from Iain Stewart

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

01: Deep Earth | How Earth Made Us

BBC Two | 2010 | 59'24''

Series telling the story of how the development of civilisation was influenced by planetary forces. Professor Iain Stewart explores the ro...

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05: Rare Earth | Earth: The Power of the Planet

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From the moment we first drilled for oil, we opened a Pandora's box that changed the world forever. It transfor...

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04: Eurasia | Rise of the Continents

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Professor Iain Stewart shows that where the south of Eurasia is today there was once an ocean and how, in 250 million years, all of the ...

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

Iceland Erupts: A Volcano Live Special | Volcano Live

BBC Two | 2012 | 59'03''

Kate Humble heads to Iceland and meets the scientists monitoring the country's most dangerous volcanoes. She also inves...

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02: The Power Of Flowers | How To Grow A Planet

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04: Scotland's Water | Making Scotland's Landscape

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03: The Big Freeze | Men of Rock

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Lake Nyos, Cameroon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

Lake Nyos, Cameroon | 10 Things You Didn't Know About...

BBC Four | 2008 | 5'12''

In 1986, people and animals living around Lake Nyos in Cameroon suddenly died, due to carbon dioxide released by a l...

Mount Merapi erupts and is followed by an earthquake | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

Mount Merapi erupts and is followed by an earthquake | Journeys into the Ring of Fire

BBC Four | 2006 | 1'28''

Mount Merapi erupts, followed by an earthquake.