On Thursday 31 May 2012 at 3.20 am local time (9.20 pm on Wednesday 30 May, GMT), an Earthquake shook the southeastern Kazakhstan province of Almaty, and neighboring areas of Kyrgyzstan and northwest China. The quake was centered about 148 km east of the provincial capitol, also Almaty, near the village of Kokpek and the Charyn Canyon National Park, and was recorded by the United States Geological Survey as measuring 5.4 on the Richter Scale and occurring at a depth of 23.1 km. There are no reports of any significant damage or injuries.
Map showing the location of the quake, and the areas which suffered the strongest shaking (shading). USGS.
Kazakhstan is located to the north of the Himalayas, where the Indian Plate is impacting into the Eurasian Plate from the south. This causes uplift in the Himalayas, the Tibetan Plateau and the mountains of Central Asia. This is not a smooth process, and causes quakes throughout the region.
See also Earthquake in Tajikstan, Earthquake rattles Assam, northeast India, Earthquake in northwest Azerbaijan, What a 4.6 million-year-old Three Toed Horse can tell us about the climate of Mid Pliocene Tibet and Earthquakes on Sciency Thoughts YouTube.
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