Reviewed by USGSMontenegro48y ago
M3.4 earthquake 18 km SE of Ulcinj, Montenegro
Friday, June 1, 1979, 09:01:45 UTC · 41.793°N, 19.350°E
A magnitude 3.4 earthquake struck 18 km SE of Ulcinj, Montenegro on Friday, June 1, 1979, 09:01:45 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 3.4
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
2 tons of TNT
That is about 1/7,931 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 251 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
312 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and African plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 50 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M3.7 on June 30, 1979. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.711 km NE of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 22 km N of this epicenter
- 3.012 km SW of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 22 km W of this epicenter
- 2.711 km WSW of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 22 km NW of this epicenter
- 3.219 km SSE of Ulcinj, Montenegro47y ago · 3 km SW of this epicenter
- 3.71 km WNW of Ulcinj, Montenegro48y ago · 19 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 162 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.96 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroApril 15, 1979 · 36 km N of this epicenter
- 6.76 km NW of Lukovo, North MacedoniaNovember 30, 1967 · 109 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.73 km SW of Kuklis, North MacedoniaMarch 8, 1931 · 277 km E of this epicenter
- 6.617 km NNW of Bilisht, AlbaniaFebruary 18, 1911 · 172 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.59 km E of Stari Bar, MontenegroJune 1, 1905 · 34 km N of this epicenter
- 6.24 km ENE of Baška Voda, CroatiaJanuary 11, 1962 · 260 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.211 km SSW of Maliq, AlbaniaMay 26, 1960 · 169 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.28 km WSW of Budva, MontenegroMay 24, 1979 · 71 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 72 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,497 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1851M6.6
Vlore (Valona),Berat; Turkey
12 Oct 1851 · 147 km away · intensity XI
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Macedonia: Skopje
26 Jul 1963 · 165 km away · intensity X
1,070 deaths$1.0 billion damage
- 1851
Berat
17 Oct 1851 · 147 km away · intensity X
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1920M6.2
Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj
26 Nov 1920 · 185 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.9
Montenegro
15 Apr 1979 · 36 km away · intensity IX
131 deaths$2.7 billion damagetsunami
- 1905M6.6
Shkoder
1 Jun 1905 · 40 km away · intensity X
120 deaths$24 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.