The earthquake was a result of the geological processes that created the Himalayas.

Mount Everest and the rest of the Himalayas form part of the Tibetan Plateau and are still rising because of the collision, 45 million years ago, between the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.

The epicentre of the earthquake lies on a fault line between the eastern border of the Tibetan Plateau and an area of sedimentary rocks.

Material from the Tibetan Plateau is forcing its way underneath the Sichuan basin sedimentary rocks lying deep beneath the surface in China.

Friction between the rocks stops movement and an earthquake occurs when the opposing surface suddenly slip forward as the forces overcome the friction.

John Whalley, a geologist at the University of Portsmouth, compared the process to attempting to push a heavy piece of furniture across the floor.

“It’s like trying to move a wardrobe on a carpet. You have to build up your push, then you get a jog of movement,” he said.

The Himalayan mountains and the Tibetan Plateau are still being forced northwards and upwards by the Indian plate at a rate of 5cm each year.

Seismologists calculated that the epicentre of the earthquake was beneath Wenchun county, about 100 miles northwest of the city of Chengdu.

It was calculated to have taken place 6.2 miles below the surface, a relatively shallow depth which is thought to have contributed to the violence of the earthquake on the ground.

Energy from the subterranean slip spread out in every direction and the powerful earthquake, which was measured at magnitude 7.8, could be felt in Bangkok, Hong Kong and in Shanghai, more than 930 miles away.

Dr Whalley said of the collision between the Indian and Eurasian plates: “The Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau are the consequences of this continuing northwards push. As well as creating these extensive high areas, India’s push also generates an eastwards spread of material away from the Tibetan plateau. In the Si-chuan area the margins of the plateau are being pushed under weaker sedimentary rocks. It is along one of the faults marking the boundary of these sediments that today’s earthquake occurred.”

Robin Laccassin, of the Paris Institute of Earth Physics, described the region where the earthquake struck as having “a very complex geology” and said: “There are many major fault lines. Some are ancient and they probably broke.”

Tom Foulkes, director-general of the Institute of Civil Engineers, added: “An earthquake of this magnitude is likely to severely damage much of the area’s infrastructure, posing a grave threat to the local population.”

David Rothery, of the Open University, said: “Today’s magnitude 7.8 earthquake appears to be a result of the continental collision of India with Asia, which is forcing the Tibetan plateau towards the east over the Si-chuan basin.

“The focus was at a relatively shallow depth of about ten kilometres, which may account for the strong ground motion and the extent of the damage and loss of life. A nearby magnitude 7.5 earthquake in August 25, 1933, killed more than 9,300 people.”

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