Quakeshakes turns your home computer into a seismic monitoring station and shows you recent worldwide earthquake activity in the past hour, day or week, giving you a dramatic visual record of the many quakes that strike the planet every day. Quakeshakes taps into the near-live data feed of a worldwide network of sesimic sensors maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) which updates every 30 minutes. A giant 8.7 quake with tsunmai waves rocks the South Pacific and chances are you'll know about it before it hits the news Quakeshakes is not just a static monitoring station. It is packed with overlay options and educational features designed to teach you more. Explore the earth's tectonic plates boundaries. Learn about the earth's "hot spots" and see for yourself where earthquakes are most likely to occur. You get a choice of map views, a zoom option that lets you see locations up close. There's even a 'top ten' list showing you locations of the biggest and deadliest quakes in history. It is a great educational reference tool. Perfect for home and school, classroom labs or anyone wanting to learn more about earthquakes, where they happen and why.