Baja California earthquake of 2010
| Baja California earthquake of 2010 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| date | April 4, 2010 | ||
| Time | 22:40:41 UTC | ||
| intensity | IX on the MM scale | ||
| Magnitude | 7.2 M W | ||
| depth | 10 km | ||
| epicenter |
32 ° 7 ′ 41 ″ N , 115 ° 18 ′ 11 ″ W
(60 km SSE of Mexicali)
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| country | Mexico , United States | ||
| Affected places | |||
| dead | > 2 | ||
| Injured | > 100 | ||
The 2010 Baja California earthquake was a major earthquake that occurred near the city of Guadalupe Victoria on April 4, 2010 at 10:40:41 PM UTC (3:40:41 PM local time) . The hypocenter of the earthquake was, according to the United States Geological Survey 60 km south-southeast of Mexicali , and 167 km east-southeast of Tijuana about 10 km depth.
Before and after shocks
The region had been seismically more active for a year before the main earthquake with M w 7.2; Since April 1, there have been several light earthquakes with a strength between 3 and 4 on the moment magnitude scale .
Within the first six hours, more than 90 aftershocks were registered in northern Lower California and southern California, each with a magnitude of 3.0 or more. One of them reached 5.2 MW , another 5.4 MW and one 5.1 MW - all within 60 minutes of the main quake.
Tectonic overview
The earthquake on Sunday, April 4, 2010 with a magnitude of 7.2 M w occurred about 60 km south of the border between the United States and Mexico in the north of the Baja California peninsula at a shallow depth on the border between the North American and Pacific plates . This is an area with a high level of historical seismic activity that has also been seismically active recently; however, the earthquake was the strongest at this point since 1892. It was stronger than the M-6.9 earthquake of 1940 and the other earthquake events in this region of Lower California at the beginning of the 20th century (for example 1915 and 1934).
At the geographic latitude of the earthquake, the Pacific Plate is pushing northwest with respect to the North American Plate at a rate of about 45 mm per year. The main plate boundary in northern Lower California consists of a series of northwest trending leaf-displacement faults separated by diverging basins. These faults differ from the parallel fibers of the San Andreas Fault . The major April 4 earthquake struck a leaf-displacement segment of the plate boundary that coincides with the southeast portion of the Laguna-Salada Fault . While the location and focal mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with the shock at the fault, cracking of the earth's crust at this point has not yet been confirmed. The aftershocks extend along the fault on either side of the epicenter. The zone of the aftershocks extends from the northern tip of the Gulf of California to the Mexican-American border.
Earthquakes with magnitudes up to 7 have historically been recorded in this area of the plate boundaries. The earthquake of 1892 struck the Laguna Salada fault, but was significantly further to the northwest. The Imperial Valley earthquake of 1940 reached magnitude 7 and had a center further north on the Imperial Fault. Both earthquakes were accompanied by significant surface deformation. An event with magnitude M 7.0 or 7.1 occurred in this region in 1915 and an earthquake with magnitude M 7.0 to 7.2 in 1934 broke up the Cerro Prieto fault, causing the surface to increase by several Meters.
There are several active faults in the vicinity of the earthquake of April 4, 2010 and it is not yet clear which of these faults the earthquake occurred at. Since the submarine plate boundary in the Bay of Baja California merges into the continental plate boundary in the Salton Trench in this area, the seismic activity here is complex. Most of the major active faults run northwest to southeast and are the right-hand blade displacements common in the San Andreas Fault and the parallel faults at Lake Elsinore and San Jacinto north of the state line.
Effects
Most of the damage was caused by the earthquake in the twin city of Mexicali- Calexico , which stretches on both sides of the border between the United States and Mexico . In the city of Mexicali, with a population of almost one million, gas pipes burst and fires broke out. The reported damage also includes collapsed buildings, bent street surfaces and the failure of the telephone network and power supply.
The greatest impact was felt locally in Tier IX (devastating); they reached level VIII (difficult) on the Mercalli scale in Progreso . In Mexicali, Calexico, and Guadalupe Victoria the intensity was determined as VII (very strong), while in San Luis Río Colorado the level VI (strong) was achieved.
supporting documents
- ↑ a b Quake rolls across Baja (English) , Los Angeles Times . April 5, 2010.
- ↑ Alicia Chang: Big Baja quake came from 'chaotic' fault system (English) , San Jose Mercury News. April 4, 2010. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
- ↑ 90+ aftershocks in Mexico-California region after strong quake . In: Digital Journal , April 4, 2010.
- ↑ Magnitude 5.2 - BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO . In: United States Geological Survey . Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ↑ Magnitude 5.4 - BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO . In: United States Geological Survey . Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ↑ Magnitude 5.1 - SONORA, MEXICO . In: United States Geological Survey . Archived from the original on April 9, 2010. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved May 4, 2010.
- ↑ a b Magnitude 7.2 - BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO Earthquake Summary ( English ) United States Geological Survey . April 4, 2010. Archived from the original on April 6, 2010. Retrieved on April 5, 2010.
- ↑ PAGER - M 7.2 - 39.0 mi SSE of Calexico, CA ( English ) United States Geological Survey . April 5, 2010. Archived from the original on April 8, 2010. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved April 5, 2010.
literature
- Michael E. Oskin, et al .: Near-Field Deformation from the El Mayor-Cucapah Earthquake Revealed by Differential LIDAR , Science, February 10, 2012, Vol. 335, Issue 6069, pp. 702-705, doi : 10.1126 / science .1213778 , online at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Web links
- Magnitude 7.2 - BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO ( Memento from April 6, 2010 in the Internet Archive ). Website of the United States Geological Survey (English)