An earthquake is measured using a Richter scale, which quantifies the amount of energy released during an earthquake event. Developed by Charles F. Richter in 1935, this logarithmic scale assigns a numerical value to an earthquake based on the seismic waves recorded by seismographs. Each whole number increase on the Richter scale represents a tenfold increase in measured amplitude and roughly 31.6 times more energy release. The scale typically ranges from 0 (micro) to 10 (massive), with most earthquakes occurring between magnitudes 2 and 6. Higher magnitude earthquakes can cause significant damage and destruction, especially in populated areas.