<p>I wanted to know if two earthquakes can happen at the same time in the same area? I "think" this can happen, but I'm not totally sure? I understand tectonic plates sliding against each other can cause an earthquake, but is it possible for two to happen at the same time in the same area?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-11T21:00:07.230Z
I remember reading in a Nat Geo book that the '64 Anchorage quake was actually three separate earthquakes occurring in rapid succession. I can no longer find a source for that, however.
BillDOe
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-11-27T01:09:46.237Z
Related: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/191636/is-it-possible-for-two-events-happen-at-the-exact-same-time
user2821
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-01-12T00:16:36.300Z
This is a question of definition: If two earthquakes happen in the same place at the same time, isn't that really just one big earthquake?
Spencer
CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-02-28T22:32:19.453Z
It happens often enough that before the use of supercomputers in high resolution seismic mapping of earthquake epicenters, nuclear weapons were illicitly tested underground during nearby earthquakes. Back then, it was easy to camouflage a nuclear explosion to look like an ancillary earthquake if it happened close enough to a real earthquake in space-time.
Knob Scratcher
<earthquakes>
Can two earthquakes happen at the same time?
Desi Love
# Can two earthquakes happen at the same time?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2016-11-11)

I wanted to know if two earthquakes can happen at the same time in the same area? I "think" this can happen, but I'm not totally sure? I understand tectonic plates sliding against each other can cause an earthquake, but is it possible for two to happen at the same time in the same area?

**Tags:** earthquakes

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I remember reading in a Nat Geo book that the '64 Anchorage quake was actually three separate earthquakes occurring in rapid succession. I can no longer find a source for that, however.  
> **username_2**: Related: http://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/191636/is-it-possible-for-two-events-happen-at-the-exact-same-time  
> **username_4**: It happens often enough that before the use of supercomputers in high resolution seismic mapping of earthquake epicenters, nuclear weapons were illicitly tested underground during nearby earthquakes. Back then, it was easy to camouflage a nuclear explosion to look like an ancillary earthquake if it happened close enough to a real earthquake in space-time.  
> **username_3**: This is a question of definition: If two earthquakes happen in the same place at the same time, isn't that really just one big earthquake?  

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