Small earthquake recorded off the coast of Cornwall
The data has just been released
It has been revealed that a small earthquake was recorded off the coast of Cornwall last month.
It happened in the early hours of the morning of the 31st of May and the data has just been published by the British Geological Survey.
It shows that the 0.5 magnitude tremor occurred 15 miles north west of Trevose Head, off the north coast of Cornwall near Padstow.
You can find the full list of earthquakes around the British Isles in the last 50 days here.
What is an earthquake?
An earthquake is the sudden release of strain energy in the Earth’s crust, resulting in waves of shaking that radiate outwards from the earthquake source.
When stresses in the crust exceed the strength of the rock, it breaks along lines of weakness, either a pre-existing or new fault plane.
The point where an earthquake starts is termed the focus or hypocentre and may be many kilometres deep within the earth.
The point at the surface directly above the focus is called the earthquake epicentre.
Source: British Geological Survey