Reviewed by USGSChina91y ago
M7.8 earthquake in Southern Qinghai, China
Thursday, January 7, 1937, 13:20:42 UTC · 35.331°N, 97.761°E
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck in Southern Qinghai, China on Thursday, January 7, 1937, 13:20:42 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.8
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
7.8 megatons of TNT
That is about 520 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 16,406 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
802 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 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on January 7, 1937. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.5200 km S of Jiuquan, ChinaJuly 13, 1930 · 294 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5296 km NE of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 25, 1919 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaApril 28, 1915 · 169 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaMay 5, 1915 · 182 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.7northern Qinghai, ChinaMarch 31, 1933 · 207 km N of this epicenter
- 5.7northern Qinghai, ChinaMarch 26, 1930 · 232 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.3213 km NNW of Qamdo, ChinaSeptember 29, 1930 · 283 km SW 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 424 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1738M6.5
Qinghai Province
1738 · 250 km away · intensity VIII
336 deaths
- 1834M5.5
Qinghai Province
1834 · 268 km away · intensity VII
88 deaths
- 1937M7.5
Qinghai Province
7 Jan 1937 · 24 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.