Reviewed by USGSMexico109y ago
M7.0 earthquake 41 km SSW of Heroica Guaymas, Mexico
Thursday, May 23, 1918, 11:57:40 UTC · 27.580°N, 111.087°W
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 41 km SSW of Heroica Guaymas, Mexico on Thursday, May 23, 1918, 11:57:40 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on October 16, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (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
494 kilotons of TNT
That is about 33 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,035 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
30 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North American and Pacific plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1810M7.4
Baja California: Loreto
27 Aug 1810 · 178 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907M7.7
Gulf Of California
16 Oct 1907 · 147 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.