Reviewed by USGSChina125y ago
M7.7 earthquake in About 50 km NNE of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China
Friday, August 22, 1902, 03:00:00 UTC · 39.800°N, 76.200°E
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck in About 50 km NNE of Kashgar, Xinjiang, China on Friday, August 22, 1902, 03:00:00 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 30 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
5.4 megatons of TNT
That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
650 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
30 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 no earlier M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km.
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 5,714 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1902M7.7
Xinjiang, Turkestan
22 Aug 1902 · 0 km away · intensity X
5,653 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1898M6.0
Xinjiang
21 Jun 1898 · 34 km away · intensity VIII
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1896M6.6
Xinjiang Province: Kashgar
1 Nov 1896 · 28 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1896M6.5
Xinjiang
5 Mar 1896 · 201 km away
7 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.