The Largest Recorded Earthquake Moved Japan by Eight Feet: US Geological Survey

WASHINGTON — According to the US Geological Survey; Japan has been moved by about eight feet (2.4 meters) due to the recent huge earthquake, one of the largest in the recorded history.

Massive 8.9-magnitude earthquake triggered a horrifying tsunami that swallowed up towns and cities on Japan's north-eastern coastline, devastating everything in its path in what Japan’s Prime Minister Naoto Kan said was an "unprecedented national disaster."

The earthquake and its massive shift resulted from "thrust faulting" along the boundary of the Pacific and North America plates, according to the USGS.

Paul Earle, USGS seismologist, said, "That's a reasonable number, eight feet, that's certainly going to be in the ballpark."