Reviewed by USGSTurkey50y ago
M4.4 earthquake 47 km NE of Özalp, Turkey
Monday, December 6, 1976, 04:06:04 UTC · 38.894°N, 44.439°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 47 km NE of Özalp, Turkey on Monday, December 6, 1976, 04:06:04 UTC, at a depth of 67.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 67 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
171 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Arabian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
67 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 50 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 12, 1976. 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 99 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.347 km S of Doğubayazıt, TurkeyNovember 24, 1976 · 43 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.110 km SSW of Salmās, IranMay 6, 1930 · 91 km S of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.814 km NE of Varto, TurkeyAugust 19, 1966 · 251 km W of this epicenter
- 6.414 km S of Hats’avan, ArmeniaApril 27, 1931 · 140 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3AzerbaijanFebruary 20, 1920 · 285 km N of this epicenter
- 6.213 km SE of Khowy, IranMay 8, 1930 · 72 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.028 km E of Kars, TurkeyMay 1, 1935 · 206 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 59 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 216,032 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1727
Tabriz
18 Nov 1727 · 190 km away · intensity VIII
77,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1780M7.7
Tabriz
8 Jan 1780 · 183 km away · intensity IX
50,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1721M7.7
Tabriz
26 Apr 1721 · 226 km away
40,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 292 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1779M6.5
Tabriz
27 Dec 1779 · 221 km away · intensity VII
10,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1976M7.0
Muradiye
24 Nov 1976 · 40 km away · intensity X
5,000 deaths$60 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.