Web EQ Help

This graphical interface to current earthquake maps consists of these main elements:
  1. A map you can click on to get a more deatiled map
  2. A link to the home site of the map that is visible (right below the map)
  3. Zooms available from this map
  4. Alternative views of much the same area, if available
Between these links you can usually find what you want fairly quickly. A more comprehensive alternative is a text hyperlink listing.

Troubleshooting

No map is showing up--how can I get more information on the area I am interested in?
Many of the maps are from the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colorado. This server can get overwhelmed after large earthquakes and so a map might not show up. If you can see the messages at the bottom of the browser window as you move your mouse over the map, you can still click down to get to the next level. Alternatively, go to text hyperlink listing, which does not rely on images.
Where is the earthquake map?
These pages are stored at the University of Colorado; the images are generated by other servers. If the server (listed below the image) is down or overloaded, no image will appear. If the server is up (e.g., you can reach it by clicking on the server listing) and no image is available, it is possible that the site has changed their map; please e-mail me if you think this has happened.
I click on the map but go to the wrong place.
If your browser supports client-side imagemaps (most do), then watch the part of the browser window that shows messages (like where a link will take you). You might be close to an edge. Alternatively, the map being shown may not be the map used to make the imagemap (all it takes is somebody changing the size of the margin to throw things off). Please email me if this is the case so I can fix the problem.
I can't seem to click to get a zoom that is listed for this map.
See the note above for going to the wrong place.
I don't see the recent earthquake that I am interested in.
First, be sure you have the most recent map. Some browsers cache images and won't check to see if they should be updated. You can try super reloads or flushing the cache and restarting your browser (yech :-( ). You could also try going directly to the source of the map (click on the tag below the map).
If you have the most current map, the problem is with the map maker. Different maps cover different time periods, display different magnitude ranges, and are updated at differing intervals. In general, zooming in on the region where the earthquake appeared is likely to pull up a map with the desired event, especially if it is a smalled event. I have tried in general to use the most authoritative zooms possible, but in some instances the maps I can use are not very good. You might try one of the alternative views listed. Or you might wait awhile and come back. Some servers list earthquakes more rapidly than they map them; you might check the source of a map to see if a listing is available. Finally, and least likely, some sites leave old maps online when they move to a new system. If this appears to be the case, please let me know so that I can adjust the system.
The map takes too long to download
Some of these maps are larger than I myself would choose were I in control of them. The fastest way to get to a particular zoom is through the hyperlink listing, but then you have to know where you are going. If you really find some maps take consistently too long, let me know and maybe I'll make an alternative or replace the map, if either is feasible.

General Instructions

This is the graphical way to find web earthquake maps for the region you are interested in. A text list is available as well. For other seismological information (such as earthquake catalogs) start at Steve Malone's Seismosurfing the Internet page.

In this and succeeding maps, click on the region within the map of interest to you. If available, a new map with greater detail will show up. If there is not a more detailed map, you will be sent off either to the home of the map you clicked on or an interactive earthquake-by-earthquake page covering the region of interest.

Note that you might have to reload images to get the most current map. I have installed some commands that might force the browser to refresh the contents of the image, but I don't really know how well they will work. In extreme cases you might have to flush the cache and quit and restart your browser (Netscape has a shift or option reload-'super reload' that might help too). Also, you might occasionally find that a remote image used in this setup is not available (they are not echoed on the CIRES machine where this page resides). In such an instance you will not be able to click on the map to go down farther. Instead use the link to the text list on that map page to circumvent the problem.

Also note that different maps will show different earthquakes, usually because of different time periods or magnitude thresholds. Thus the global map (below) might show no earthquakes in California, but the detail of the Mammoth region almost always has some events.

At the moment, the text based list is more complete and up to date.

This set of pages uses both client-side and browser-side imagemaps for optimal speed. Send me e-mail if there is any problem with this arrangement


Please send mail to cjones@terra.colorado.edu if you encounter any problems or have suggestions.

C. H. Jones | CIRES | Dept. of Geological Sciences | Univ. of Colorado at Boulder

Last modified at Wednesday, March 15, 2000 9:57 AM

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