The mountainous topography of southern China reveals something of the tectonic forces that generate strong earthquakes such as one that occurred on July 9, 2009.
Based on data collected by the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission in 2002, this map shows the location of the April 13, 2010, earthquake in Qinghai, China, as well as tectonic features of the eastern Tibetan Plateau.
The magnitude 7.6 earthquake that shattered Pakistan on October 8, 2005, caused the most damage in the region surrounding the city of Muzaffarabad, about 10 kilometers southwest of the earthquake’s epicenter. The Ikonos satellite captured an image of a landslide in Makhri, a village on the northern outskirts of Muzzaffarabad, on October 9, 2005. The western face of the mountain has collapsed, sending a cascade of white-grey rock into the Neelum River. The landslide is likely only one of many to occur along the river, which is almost unrecognizable after the earthquake.