6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Kuril Islands: 8th major quake in eight days

November 16, 2012 – KURIL ISLANDS – A powerful earthquake that struck the Kuril Islands in the northwestern Pacific this morning did not generate a Pacific-wide tsunami, the US Geological Survey said. The 6.4-magnitude tremor occurred at 8:12 a.m. Hawaii time at a depth of 18 miles. Its epicenter was in an 810-mile volcanic archipelago located between Japan and Russia which separates the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The USGS describes the area as among the most seismically active in the world. The islands mark the location of the Kuril-Kamchatka tectonic arc, a subduction zone interface between the overriding North America plate and the Pacific plate. The area has been the site of frequent earthquakes including seven since 1900 of 8.3 magnitude or greater. This is the eighth 6.0+ magnitude earthquake to rattle the planet in the last 8 days. –Big Island Now