What is the Richter Scale?
The Richter scale is a numerical scale used to measure the magnitude of earthquakes. It was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg at the California Institute of Technology. The scale is logarithmic, meaning that each whole number increase in magnitude represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude.

How does the Richter Scale work?
- The Richter scale measures the amplitude of seismic waves produced by an earthquake.
- The amplitude is recorded by seismographs located near the epicenter of the earthquake.
- The logarithmic scale allows for a wide range of magnitudes to be accurately measured.

Interpreting Richter Scale values
- Earthquakes with a magnitude of less than 2.0 are usually not felt by people.
- Earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.0 or higher can cause damage to buildings and infrastructure.
- Major earthquakes, with magnitudes exceeding 7.0, can cause widespread destruction and loss of life.

Limitations of the Richter Scale
- The Richter scale is not well-suited for measuring very large earthquakes, as it tends to underestimate their magnitude.
- It also does not take into account the depth of the earthquake or the distance from the epicenter.

Alternative scales
- In addition to the Richter scale, there are other scales used to measure earthquake magnitude, such as the moment magnitude scale (Mw) and the surface-wave magnitude scale (Ms).
- These scales take into account additional factors, such as the energy released by the earthquake and the type of seismic waves produced.