Reviewed by USGSChina91y ago
M6.8 earthquake 24 km SSW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China
Friday, February 7, 1936, 08:56:29 UTC · 35.388°N, 103.147°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 24 km SSW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China on Friday, February 7, 1936, 08:56:29 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on May 22, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 kilotons of TNT
That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
724 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Yangtze 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9125 km E of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 16, 1920 · 242 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.731 km SSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 22, 1927 · 260 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0139 km ENE of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 25, 1920 · 293 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.350 km SW of Wuwei, ChinaMarch 7, 1928 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 6.275 km WNW of Xining, ChinaApril 12, 1921 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.077 km SE of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 237 km N of this epicenter
- 6.075 km WSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.9132 km SW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, ChinaDecember 6, 1931 · 116 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 386,712 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1920M8.3
Gansu Province, Shanxi Province
16 Dec 1920 · 237 km away · intensity XII
235,502 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1718M7.5
Gansu Province
19 Jun 1718 · 191 km away · intensity X
73,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1927M7.7
Gansu Province
22 May 1927 · 260 km away · intensity XI
40,912 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1879M8.0
Gansu Province
1 Jul 1879 · 282 km away · intensity XI
22,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 254 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1765M6.5
Gansu Province: Wushan, Gangu
2 Sep 1765 · 181 km away · intensity IX
2,068 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.