Reviewed by USGS91y ago
M5.9 earthquake in Reykjanes Ridge
Wednesday, March 25, 1936, 08:58:43 UTC · 57.877°N, 32.963°W
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck in Reykjanes Ridge on Wednesday, March 25, 1936, 08:58:43 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on December 15, 1933.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 26 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
18 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on March 25, 1936. 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.0Reykjanes RidgeDecember 15, 1933 · 137 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0Reykjanes RidgeFebruary 7, 1920 · 42 km S of this epicenter
- 5.9Reykjanes RidgeNovember 28, 1919 · 209 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.9Reykjanes RidgeSeptember 6, 1931 · 250 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.8Reykjanes RidgeApril 14, 1932 · 53 km N of this epicenter
- 5.7Reykjanes RidgeJune 30, 1921 · 101 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.7North Atlantic OceanDecember 15, 1929 · 181 km E of this epicenter
- 5.7Reykjanes RidgeMarch 25, 1936 · 36 km W of this epicenter