Editing Earthquake prediction (section)

==== Elastic rebound ====
Even the stiffest of rock is not perfectly rigid. Given a large force (such as between two immense tectonic plates moving past each other) the Earth's crust will bend or deform. According to the [[elastic rebound]] theory of {{Harvtxt|Reid|1910}}, eventually the deformation (strain) becomes great enough that something breaks, usually at an existing fault. Slippage along the break (an earthquake) allows the rock on each side to rebound to a less deformed state. In the process energy is released in various forms, including seismic waves.<ref>{{Harvnb|Reid|1910|p=22}}; {{Harvnb|ICEF|2011|p=329}}.</ref> The cycle of tectonic force being accumulated in elastic deformation and released in a sudden rebound is then repeated. As the displacement from a single earthquake ranges from less than a meter to around 10 meters (for an M 8 quake),<ref>{{Harvnb|Wells|Coppersmith|1994|loc=Fig. 11|p=993}}.</ref> the demonstrated existence of large [[strike-slip]] displacements of hundreds of miles shows the existence of a long running earthquake cycle.<ref>{{Harvnb|Zoback|2006}} provides a clear explanation.</ref>{{efn|1={{Harvtxt|Evans|1997|loc=§2.2}} provides a description of the "self-organized criticality" (SOC) paradigm that is displacing the elastic rebound model.}}