Reviewed by USGSTurkey86y ago
M6.0 earthquake 20 km NNE of Erciş, Turkey
Wednesday, September 10, 1941, 21:53:55 UTC · 39.196°N, 43.444°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 20 km NNE of Erciş, Turkey on Wednesday, September 10, 1941, 21:53:55 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on May 1, 1935.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
14 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 29 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
144 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 57 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.110 km SSW of Salmās, IranMay 6, 1930 · 164 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 158 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.414 km S of Hats’avan, ArmeniaApril 27, 1931 · 217 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.213 km SE of Khowy, IranMay 8, 1930 · 162 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.028 km E of Kars, TurkeyMay 1, 1935 · 152 km N of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 239 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.91 km SW of Amasia, ArmeniaOctober 22, 1926 · 196 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 38 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 157,046 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1727
Tabriz
18 Nov 1727 · 282 km away · intensity VIII
77,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1780M7.7
Tabriz
8 Jan 1780 · 274 km away · intensity IX
50,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 200 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 82 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1931M6.3
Zangezur, Nakhitchevan
27 Apr 1931 · 220 km away · intensity VIII
2,890 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1930M7.1
Salmas
6 May 1930 · 170 km away · intensity IX
2,539 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.