|
| Year |
Location |
Magnitude |
Comment |
|
| 1556 |
Shensi, China
|
8.0 |
Worst death toll in history: 830,000 deaths.
One of the world's most destructive earthquakes.
Damage Photos from the USGS Photographic Library
|
|
| 1812 |
New Madrid Area, Missouri
|
~7.0 - 7.8 |
One of the Largest Earthquakes in the United States
This is the third principal shock of the 1811-1812 sequence.
|
|
| 1855 |
Wellington, New Zealand
|
8.0 - 8.2 |
Largest Earthquake in New Zealand.
The earthquake rocked the southern part of the North Island. It was caused
by movement along a fault in Palliser Bay.
Four people died, 1 in Wellington and 3 in Wairarapa.
From: New Zealand Disasters: Wellington 1855
|
|
| 1857 |
Volosko, Croatia
|
|
Andrija Mohorovicic born.
Croatian meteorologist and geophysicist who discovered the
boundary between the Earth's crust and mantle.
In 1909, Andrija Mohorovicic used seismic waves to
discover a discontinuity at a depth of about 50 km
beneath the surface of the Earth.
This marks the boundary between what we now call the
Earth's crust and the underlying mantle.
In his honor, we call the boundary separating the
crust from the mantle the Mohorovicic discontinuity,
or Moho for short.
|
|
| 1909 |
Silakhor, Iran (Persia)
|
7.3 |
One of the world's deadliest earthquakes.
5,000 to 6,000 casualties.
About 60 villages destroyed or
severely damaged. Casualties occurred
in 130 villages. Over 40 km (25 mi) of
surface rupture was seen on the Dorud
Fault. Aftershocks continued for
nearly 6 months.
|
|
| 1966 |
Near Dulce, New Mexico
|
5.1 |
This earthquake affected to some extent almost every house in Dulce and damaged chimneys
throughout the area. Property damage was estimated at about $200,000.
|
|
| 1981 |
Sichuan Province, China
|
6.8 |
One hundred fifty people killed, 300 injured and
extensive damage in the Dawu area.
|
|
|
U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey