On May 9th, the eastern Sichuan region of China experienced a 7.9 magnitude earthquake (at this USGS website, you can obtain details, a summary, maps, and more technical information about this powerful quake). More than 30 million experienced from strong to extreme shaking in a region about 600 km by 300 km. The quake, however, was felt thousands of miles away. The earthquake was the result of motion on a northeast direction (striking) fault on the margin of the Sichuan basin. On a large, or continental scale, the earthquake activity in this area of Asia is due to the convergence of the India tectonic plate against the Eurasia plate.

The epicenter of the May 9th earthquake is in a mountainous region (about 2400 m or 7200 feet) at the edge of the Sichuan basin. The maps below show the region of the initial 7.9 M quake, and the many after shocks (quakes) in the Sichuan region. The first map gives a more regional view, while the second map is closer look a the 7.9 M earthquake and the aftershocks. The May 9th earthquake is the largest yellow circle shown on the map.

The images shown above were generated with Google Earth, which you can download onto your computer. . Search Google for google earthquakes, and you can open a file of recent earthquakes.