After the recent earthquake in Algeria, a reader sent in a great quake-tracking site that will let you know what's shakin' -- in real-time.

http://earthquake.usgs.gov/

"For tracking and covering earthquakes, this one is dynamite," says Jeff Gralnick, the executive in charge of "The News with Brian Williams."

The USGS Earthquake Hazards Program site features in-depth bulletins on the most recent major earthquakes around the world. The page for the Algeria quake, for example, included time, magnitude, exact location, a history of major earthquakes in Algeria, maps, related links, and a summary of the impact: "At least 2,000 people killed, 1,136 missing, 9,085 injured, 200,000 homeless and extensive damage in the Algiers-Boumerdes-Thenia area. A tsunami generated with an estimated wave height of 2m caused damage to boats and underwater telephone cables off the Balearic Islands, Spain. Also felt in Monaco and southwestern Spain."

The site has clickable real-time maps and lists of information for the most recent earthquakes recorded by U.S. and global seismographic networks -- every earthquake that's 1.0 magnitude or greater. Just click on your state, for example, and all the recent earthquakes show up -- within the past hour. Then you can drill down for more information on each one.

The USGS also uses the site to solicit information from people who felt the earthquakes, resulting in some handy statistics showing the number of people who reported feeling the earthquake, by zip code and distance from the center. For example, last week's 3.7 magnitude earthquake in Bremerton, Wash.,  was felt by 41 people in my zip code in Seattle, 35 miles away. (That's 41 people more observant than me!)

Among the other information you can find on the USGS site:

• a good dictionary of earthquake terms
• fault maps;
• earthquake basics and educational material;
• geological and historical quake information;
• and tips on how to prepare your home, business and family for earthquake hazards.

The site also includes regional Web pages that will help you cover your area: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/regional/

And if you want to know as soon as a major earthquake strikes, you can sign up for an e-mail that will alert you whenever there's a 4.5 quake or greater in the United States or a 5.5 quake or greater elsewhere in the world.

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