The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 20.8 km in the northern Kirthar Mountains of eastern Balochistan Province, Pakistan, slightly after 3.40 pm local time (slightly after 10.40 am GMT) on Friday 15 November 2013. The quake is reported to have caused considerable alarm, but there are no reports of any damage or casualties.
The approximate location of the 15 November 2013 Balochistan Earthquake. Google Maps.
The Kirthar Mountains lie on the boundary between the Indian Plate, to the southeast and the Eurasian Plate to the west. The Indian Plate is moving northwards at a rate of 5 cm per year, causing it to impact into Eurasia, which is also moving northward, but only at a rate of 2 cm per year. When two tectonic plates collide in this way and one or both are oceanic then one will be subducted beneath the other (if one of the plates is continental then the other will be subducted), but if both plates are continental then subduction will not fully occur, but instead the plates will crumple, leading to folding and uplift (and quite a lot of Earthquakes). The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has lead to the formation of the Kirthar Mountains as well as Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.
In addition to this the Arabian Plate is being subducted along the Makran Subduction Zone to the south of Balochistan, passing under the province, which sits on the southern Eurasian Plate, as it sinks into the Earth. The two plates do not move past one another smoothly, but continuously break apart and then stick together until the pressure builds up sufficiently to cause another break, leading to Earthquakes in the process. In addition to this the Eurasian Plate is scraping sedimentary material off the leading edge of the Arabian Plate as it is subducted, forming an accretionary prism of material over the subduction zone up to 7.5 km think in places. This takes the form of a series of parallel folded hill ranges running east to west across the province and Sistan & Baluchistan Province in neighbouring Iran.
See also Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake in eastern Balochistan Province, Pakistan, Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in southern Balochistan, Magnitude 4.0 Earthquake in southeast Balochistan, Magnitude 7.7 Earthquake in Balochistan; over 350 dead and new island created and At least 12 fatalities after a Magnitude 5.6 Earthquake in eastern Afghanistan.
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