The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of about 14.4 km, roughly 10 km off the coast of northern Albania, slightly before 9.35 pm local time (slightly before 8.35 pm GMT) on Monday 29 December 2014. There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but people have reported feeling the quake as far away as Tirana, 54 km to the southeast of the epicenter.
The approximate location of the 29 December 2014 Albanian Coast Earthquake. Google Maps.
The coastal region of Albania, and the other states of the western Balkan Peninsula, forms the eastern margin of the Adriatic Plate, a piece of the African Plate that has broken away and is now wedged into the southern part of the Eurasian Plate. This is being squeezed by the impact of Africa into Europe from the south, which is pushing western Italy, which sits on the Eurasian Plate, to the east, and Greece and Turkey, which sit on the Aegean and Anatolian Plates, to the west. This squeezing leads to uplift around the margins of the Adriatic Plate, in the Apennine Mountains of central Italy and the mountain ranges of the west Balkan Peninsula.
Outline map showing the approximate positions of the Eurasian (EU), Adriatic (AD) and African (AF) Plates. Di Bucci & Mazzuli (2003).
See also...
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The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km in the Sarandë District of southern...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.6 Earthquake at a depth of 28.5 km, roughly 4 km to the south of the...
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