Concept in Definition ABC

The term epicenter is a term used in the area of geology, also in that of the geography, to designate that place located in the surface of the Earth from which a phenomenon arises such as a earthquake or seaquake, or any other movement seismic. The term epicenter comes from the Greek, a language in which the prefix epi means over or over. Thus, the idea of ​​epicenter refers us to the fact that the place marked as such is the place from which the seismic movement becomes visible on the surface, the center from where it starts at its surroundings.

When we speak of the epicenter in the aforementioned areas, we are always referring to those seismic movements that occur from the movement of tectonic plates and that cause terrestrial or aquatic displacements, slightly or severely altering the life of the human being and also of the rest of the beings alive. This is so because seismic movement always involves vibrations, ground breaking, displacements, etc. that change the landscape of a region geographically and spatially.

The epicenter of these seismic movements is the place from which the earthquake or vibrations started. The epicenter is the place where the tectonic plates moved and, once that movement reached the surface, it began to move through the force movement itself in the form of circles or waves (which become more and more expansive but with less force as they move away from the epicenter) towards the surroundings.

When speaking of an epicenter, then the place from where the earthquake or tsunami starts is pointed out as to decide which places on planet Earth are more prone to these phenomena, as well as being able to determine which are the areas most severely affected and paralyzed by the phenomenon itself.