Earthquakes are primarily associated with what geological feature?

Earthquakes are primarily associated with faults because they occur due to the movement of tectonic plates along these fractures in the Earth's crust. Faults are the locations where stress builds up over time due to plate tectonic forces. When the stress exceeds the strength of the rocks, it results in a sudden release of energy, producing seismic waves that we feel as earthquakes. The majority of significant earthquakes occur along well-defined fault lines, such as the San Andreas Fault in California or the numerous fault systems in the Ring of Fire surrounding the Pacific Ocean.

The other options provided, while they may relate to various geological or societal aspects, do not directly correlate with the occurrence of earthquakes. Violent weather is a meteorological phenomenon and does not have a causal relationship with seismic activity. The east coast of North America is not a region primarily known for frequent earthquakes compared to the west coast or other areas along tectonic plate boundaries. Large cities may experience earthquakes due to their proximity to faults, but cities are not the cause of seismic events themselves. Thus, faults remain the fundamental geological feature associated with the occurrence of earthquakes.