Welcome
|
Seismicity of China
Earthquakes in China since 1900, causing 1000 or more deaths DATE | NORTH | EAST | MAG | REGION | DEATHS | | 30 July 1917 | 28.0 | 104.0 | 6.5 | | 1,800 | | 13 Feb 1918 | 23.5 | 117.0 | 7.3 | Guandong | 10,000 | | 16 Dec 1920 | 35.8 | 105.7 | 7.8 | Gansu | 200,000 | | 24 Mar 1923 | 31.3 | 100.8 | 7.3 | | 5,000 | | 16 Mar 1925 | 25.5 | 100.3 | 7.1 | Yunnan | 5,000 | | 22 may 1927 | 36.8 | 102.8 | 7.9 | Tsinghai | 200,000 | | 25 Dec 1932 | 39.7 | 97.0 | 7.6 | Gansu | 70,000 | | 18 Aug 1933 | 32.0 | 103.7 | 7.4 | | 10,000 | | 25 July 1969 | 21.6 | 111.9 | 5.9 | | 3,000 | | 04 Jan 1970 | 24.1 | 102.5 | 7.5 | Tonghai,Yunnan | 10,000 | | 10 May 1974 | 28.2 | 104.0 | 6.8 | Zhaotong,Yunnan | 20,000 | | 04 Feb 1975 | 40.6 | 122.5 | 7.0 | Haicheng, Liaoning | 10,000 | | 27 July 1976 | 39.6 | 118.0 | 7.5 | Tangshan, Hebei | 255,000 | | | | | | | | | | | | |
information source - USGS Map of events 
RECENT SIGNIFICANT EARTHQUAKES IN CHINA| DATE | LATITUDE | LONGITUDE | MAG | REGION | COMMENT | | 26 Nov 2005 | 29.51 | 115.63 | 4.6 | Hubei-Jiangxi border region | 14 killed | | 24 Feb 2003 | 39.61 | 77.23 | 6.3 | Sthn Xinjiang | 261 killed, and 5 more next day in a mag 5.4 aftershock |
Tectonic Framework
map modified from State Seismological Bureau of China, 1993 A - Philippines Sea Plate B - Burma Plate C- India Plate D - Eurasian Plate One of the most active faults in China, and indeed the world, is the Xianshuihe Fault, which is about 400 km North of Kunming. It has a Northwesterly strike, and sinistral displacement, and is about 350 km long. There have been 8 earthquakes of magnitude 7 or more on the fault since 1725. However, there have been no large ( Mag > 6.5) earthquakes on the fault since 1985.
Map of earthquakes in China - December 2004 - December 2005 
|
The Tangshan earthquake, 27 July, 1976 This earthquake was one of the world's most destructive earthquakes, and killed possibly over 600,000 people, and nearly completely destroyed the city of Tangshan, 160 km eaast of Beijing. The earthquake occurred on the northwestern margin of the North China Basin, which has been the site of many destructive earthquakes. After being relatively quiet for more than 100 years, the period 1966 - 1976 was remarkably active, with five separate destructive earthquake sequences, as indicated on the figure below. The Tangshan earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1, and there were many aftershocks, two of which had magnitudes of 6.0 or more. A magnitude 6.1 event occurred the following day ( July 28) and a magnitude 6.0 event on Nov 15, 1976. The earthquake occurred on a strike-slip fault which was orientated to the north-northeast. Information from Nabelek and others, Journal of Geophysical Research, 1987 
(deep yellow = North China Basin. Black circles indicate earthquakes Mag > 7 since 1600)
|
LARGE EARTHQUAKES IN MONGOLIAMongolia has been the location of some very large intra-plate earthquakes, which have also resulted in surface faulting, a relatively uncommon occurrence. Large events since 1900 causing surface faulting are tabulated below | DATE | NAME | Mag | LAT | LONG | Fault Length | | | 1905 July 09 | | 8.4 | 49 N | 98E | 130 Km | | | 1905 July 23 | Bulnay | 8.7 | 49 N | 98E | 350 Km | | | 1931 Aug 10 | | 8.0 | 47.1N | 89.8E | | | | 1957 Dec 04 | Gobi-Altay | 8.3 | 45.2 N | 99.4 E | 250 Km | | | 1967 Jan 05 | Mogod | 7.0 | 48.1N | 102.8E | 36 Km | |
.
|
|
