Reviewed by USGSTurkey92y ago
M6.0 earthquake 28 km E of Kars, Turkey
Wednesday, May 1, 1935, 10:24:44 UTC · 40.566°N, 43.415°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 28 km E of Kars, Turkey on Wednesday, May 1, 1935, 10:24:44 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on April 27, 1931.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
18 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 38 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
262 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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 47 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 · 296 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 148 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.414 km S of Hats’avan, ArmeniaApril 27, 1931 · 257 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 203 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.213 km SE of Khowy, IranMay 8, 1930 · 273 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.05 km NE of Ts’inandali, GeorgiaFebruary 20, 1920 · 238 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.97 km NE of Alagir, RussiaJune 29, 1921 · 290 km N of this epicenter
- 5.91 km SW of Amasia, ArmeniaOctober 22, 1926 · 51 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,587 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 194 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 181 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1931M6.3
Zangezur, Nakhitchevan
27 Apr 1931 · 268 km away · intensity VIII
2,890 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1930M7.1
Salmas
6 May 1930 · 299 km away · intensity IX
2,539 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1840M6.7
Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh; Iran: Maku
2 Jul 1840 · 128 km away · intensity IX
1,049 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 71 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.