Final answer:
Major earthquakes occur in specific earthquake belts within the crust, typically along plate boundaries, including divergent, convergent, and transform boundaries. The most intense earthquakes are often linked to subduction zones where deep quakes emerge and the depth increases from the coast inland.
Step-by-step explanation:
Most major earthquakes occur in specific earthquake belts within the crust, often associated with plate boundary zones. The theory of plate tectonics explains that the Earth's lithosphere, or the outermost shell, is divided into several large and small plates that constantly move and interact at their boundaries. Three prominent types of plate boundaries where earthquakes are common include divergent boundaries (plates pull apart), convergent boundaries (one plate dives beneath another, known as subduction), and transform boundaries (plates slide past each other).
Deep earthquakes are typically associated with convergent or subduction zones, where one plate is forced under another. At these subduction zones, the pattern in earthquake depth tends to increase from the coast toward inland as the subducting plate dives deeper into the mantle.
These movements don't happen smoothly and can build up stress in the Earth's crust. When this stress is released, it generates earthquakes. The longer the interval between earthquakes, the greater the built-up stress, and the more energy is released during the earthquake, potentially leading to greater destruction of buildings and infrastructure, fires, slope failures, liquefaction, and tsunamis.