Reviewed by USGSChina95y ago
M5.8 earthquake 139 km NNW of Shangri-La, China
Sunday, March 6, 1932, 21:43:32 UTC · 28.993°N, 99.168°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 139 km NNW of Shangri-La, China on Sunday, March 6, 1932, 21:43:32 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on August 24, 1930.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
204 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 150 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3177 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaOctober 20, 1923 · 183 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.110 km WNW of Lijiang, ChinaOctober 15, 1925 · 251 km S of this epicenter
- 5.9177 km W of Kangding, ChinaAugust 24, 1930 · 135 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.780 km SW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 11, 1926 · 215 km E of this epicenter
- 5.7165 km NNW of Shangri-La, ChinaMay 24, 1929 · 25 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,025 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 113 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 286 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 298 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 297 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1893M6.8
Sichuan Province
29 Aug 1893 · 281 km away · intensity IX
288 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1793M6.0
Sichuan Province: Near Qianning
15 May 1793 · 287 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.