Discovering the Causes of Earthquakes The energy released by atomic explosions or by the movement of magma in Earth's crus can generate earthquake -like waves, but these events are generally quite weak. What mechanism produces a destructive earthquake?As you have learned, Earth is not a static planet.We know that large sections of Earth's crust have been thrust upward, because fossils of marine organisms have been discovered thousands of meters above sea level. Other regions exhibit evidence of extensive subsidence. In addition to these verical displacements, offsets in fence lines, roads, and other ture structures indicate that horizontal movements are also common(Figure8.4)