Reviewed by USGSChina87y ago
M6.0 earthquake 282 km WSW of Xining, China
Wednesday, January 10, 1940, 11:17:33 UTC · 35.314°N, 99.072°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 282 km WSW of Xining, China on Wednesday, January 10, 1940, 11:17:33 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on January 7, 1937.
- 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
13 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 28 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
815 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian 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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Southern Qinghai, ChinaJanuary 7, 1937 · 119 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5296 km NE of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 25, 1919 · 233 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Southern Qinghai, ChinaJuly 26, 1935 · 294 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.275 km WNW of Xining, ChinaApril 12, 1921 · 238 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaApril 28, 1915 · 253 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaMay 5, 1915 · 270 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0234 km SW of Zhangye, ChinaAugust 22, 1938 · 235 km N of this epicenter
- 5.9132 km SW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, ChinaDecember 6, 1931 · 269 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 10,000 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 238 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1893M5.5
Qinghai Province
1 Jun 1893 · 284 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1937M7.5
Qinghai Province
7 Jan 1937 · 135 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.