The natural phenomenon measured with a Richter scale is an earthquake. Developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter, the Richter scale quantifies the magnitude of seismic activity based on the amplitude of seismic waves recorded by seismographs. It presents a logarithmic scale, meaning each whole number increase corresponds to a tenfold increase in measured amplitude and approximately 31.6 times more energy release. While the Richter scale has been largely replaced by the moment magnitude scale for measuring larger quakes, it remains widely recognized and commonly referenced in media reports about earthquakes.