The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km, roughly 18 km to the south of the city of Mpanda in the Katavi Region of northwestern Tanzania, slightly after 1.05 am local time on Thursday 9 January 2014 (slightly after 10.05 pm on Wednesday 8 January, GMT). There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, though it is likely to have been felt locally.
The approximate location of the 9 January 2013 Katavi Earthquake. Google Maps.
Western Tanzania lies within the the of the Great Rift Valley, which is slowly splitting the African Plate in two along a line from the Red Sea through Ethiopia, and which includes the great lakes and volcanoes of east-central Africa. This has the potential to open into a new ocean over the next few tens of millions of years, splitting Africa into two new, smaller, continents; Nubia to the west and Somalia to the east.
See also Magnitude 4.5 Earthquake in Eastern Province, Zambia, Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake in northern Tanzania, Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake in southern Manica Province, Mozambique, Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake under Lake Albert in central Africa and Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake beneath Lake Albert.
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