Kamchatka earthquakes

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The Kamchatka earthquakes were a pair of megathrust earthquakes occurring off the coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in Russia on October 16, 1737, and on November 4, 1952, with resulting tsunamis following. Both earthquakes occurred at approximately the same location where the Pacific Plate subducts the Okhotsk Plate at the Kuril-Kamchatka Trench. The depth of the trench at the point of the earthquakes is 7000–7500 meters. Kamchatka also lies at the western end of the Bering fault, between the Pacific Plate and North American Plate.[1]

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[edit] 1737 Earthquake

The epicentre of the 1737 earthquake was located at 52.5°N and 159.5°E. This earthquake occurred at a depth of 40 km. A magnitude of 9.3Mw has been estimated.

[edit] 1952 Earthquake

The main earthquake struck at 16:58 GMT (04:58 local time) on November 4, 1952. Initially assigned a magnitude of 8.2, the quake was revised to 9.0 Mw in later years.[2] A series of tsunami resulted, causing destruction and loss of life around the Kamchatka peninsula and the Kuril Islands. Hawaii was also struck, with estimated damages of up to US$1million and livestock losses, but no human casualties were recorded. Japan also reported no casualties or damage. The tsunami reached as far as Alaska, Chile, and New Zealand.[3][4]

The epicentre was located at 52.75°N and 159.5°E, at a depth of 30 km. The length of the subduction zone fracture was 600 km. Aftershocks were recorded in an area of approximately 247,000km2, with epicentres at depths of between 40 and 60km.[5][6]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Kamchatka: Edge of the Plate
  2. ^ Historic Earthquakes
  3. ^ Bureau of Meteorology: Tsunami Information
  4. ^ Tsunami Laboratory, Novosibirsk, Russia
  5. ^ The aftershock sequence of the Kamchatka earthquake of November 4, 1952 - BÅTH and BENIOFF 48 (1): 1 - Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
  6. ^ Three Kamchatka earthquakes - STAUDER 50 (3): 347 - Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America

[edit] External links

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