The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 32.3 km in southwest Kyrgyzstan, close to the border with Uzbekistan, slightly before 1.00 pm local time (slightly before 7.00 am GMT) on Friday 15 November 2013. There are no reports of any damage or casualties relating to this quake, though it is likely to have been felt locally.
The approximate location of the 15 November 2013 Kyrgyzstan Earthquake. Google Maps.
The quake occurred on the northern fringes of the Dzungarian Alatau Mountains, which form the border between Kyrgyzstan, Khazakhstan and China, and form part of the greater Tian Shan range. The Tian Shan are part of the Himalayan Orogenic Belt, mountains in Central Asia pushed upwards by the collision of India and Asia. The Indian Plate is currently pushing into the Eurasian Plate from the south at a rate of 3 cm per year. Since both are continental plates, which do not subduct, the Eurasian Plate is folding and buckling, causing uplift in the Himalayas and other mountains of Central Asia.
See also Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake in the Tian Shan Mountains of China's Xinjiang Province, Magnitude 5.1 Earthquake hits Ürümqi in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of northwest China, At least two people killed by Kashmir Earthquake, A least 12 fatalities after a Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake in eastern Afghanistan and Magnitude 6.0 Earthquake in eastern Kazakhstan.
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