[MikefromOhio]

you see I think it is more of a give and take type thing....

A pressure release in one sector might cause pressure to build up in another....

maybe....

[nhoward14]

Possibly, but the geological evidence I seen doesn't support that theory. As an amateur example, the Atlantic Ridge is spreading apart, a horizontal movement, while the Pacific Ring of Fire has more of a vertical movement.

If anything the Atlantic Ridge is pushing on the North American and Asian plates and forcing them on top of each other, like a VW Beetle running underneath a semi tractor trailer.

Then again, I am an electrical engineer and my knowledge of geology, etc. comes from Discover Magazine and The Learning Channel, so your mileage may vary.

[rintense]

I agree. Plate techtonics is nothing more than a series of puzzle pieces. My theory is also that the energy wave an initially strong quake can be tracked across a plate, and that with distance, the intensity decreases. There were a series of quakes this year that demonstrated this. The initial quake started in the pacific, and the energy traveled from west to east, causing smaller quakes, each decreasing in magnitude, the greater the distance from the origin.

Basically, its all one energy chain reaction.