The values along the Richter scale correspond to the strength of an earthquake, referred to as its 'magnitude'. The scale was developed by American scientist Charles F. Richter in 1935. Even today, the size of an earthquake in Switzerland is usually expressed in units on the Richter scale (MLhc local magnitude). However, as time passed it became apparent that the Richter scale is only suitable for measuring earthquakes within a given range of magnitudes and distances. For this reason, other magnitude scales were developed.