Solved cryptogram
An earthquake happens when two blocks of rock that were stuck against each other finally slip.
Earth Science Facts, sourced to U.S. Geological Survey.
What it means
The plates are always moving, but friction along a fault holds the rock in place while stress accumulates in it, sometimes for centuries. When the stress finally exceeds what the friction can hold, the two sides lurch past one another and the stored elastic energy radiates outward as seismic waves. The point where the slip begins can be many kilometers underground.
The claim comes from U.S. Geological Survey, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 78 letters over 20 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceU.S. Geological Survey
- CollectionEarth Science Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length78 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- U.S. Geological Surveymedium, 76 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveymedium, 74 letters
- U.S. Geological Surveyhard, 78 letters
- U.S. National Park Servicehard, 72 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.