Reviewed by USGSTurkey101y ago
M6.8 earthquake 15 km SSW of Kaş, Turkey
Thursday, March 18, 1926, 14:06:15 UTC · 36.065°N, 29.596°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 15 km SSW of Kaş, Turkey on Thursday, March 18, 1926, 14:06:15 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on October 3, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
201 kilotons of TNT
That is about 13 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 422 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
38 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Aegean Sea and Anatolian 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 100 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on March 24, 1926. 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 29 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.115 km WSW of Burdur, TurkeyOctober 3, 1914 · 184 km N of this epicenter
- 6.733 km SE of Karpathos, GreeceAugust 13, 1922 · 205 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.452 km SSE of Fry, GreeceAugust 11, 1922 · 251 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.14 km SE of Megálo Chorió, GreeceAugust 11, 1904 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.126 km WNW of Yalvaç, TurkeyNovember 20, 1924 · 280 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.016 km NNW of Senirkent, TurkeyJanuary 16, 1918 · 255 km N of this epicenter
- 6.012 km N of Yeşilova, TurkeyAugust 7, 1925 · 173 km N of this epicenter
- 5.98 km WSW of Mandráki, GreeceJuly 16, 1918 · 237 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,527 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.0
Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta
3 Oct 1914 · 204 km away · intensity IX
4,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1875M7.3
Capali, Dinar, Civril, Yaka
3 May 1875 · 233 km away · intensity X
1,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1899M6.7
Sultanhisar,Atca,Nazilli,Kuyucak,Denizli
20 Sep 1899 · 218 km away · intensity IX
1,117 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1863
Suhut
1863 · 287 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1863M7.8
Rhodes, Kos
22 Apr 1863 · 151 km away · intensity XI
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1904M6.1
Samos, Patmos
11 Aug 1904 · 297 km away · intensity X
4 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.