The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.2 Earthquake at a depth of 3.6 km in the Tian
Shan Mountains of northwestern Xinjiang Province, China, at about 2.00 am local time on Saturday 13 August 2016 (about 6.00 pm on Friday 12 August
GMT). There are no reports of any damage or casualties associated with this event, but people have reported feeling it as far away as Almaty in Kazakhstan.
The approximate location of the 13 August 2016 Tian Shan Earthquake. Google.
The Tian Shan Mountains stretch for 2500 km across Xinjiang, Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. 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. This is not a smooth process, the rocks will remain
effectively stationary for log periods of time while pressure builds up,
then give suddenly, releasing large amounts of energy in the form of
Earthquakes.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organization Earthquake Report is interested in hearing from people who may have felt this event; if you felt this quake then you can report it to Earthquake Report here.
See also...
Landslide kills thirty-five in Xinjiang Province, China. Thirty-five people have been confirmed dead following a landslide which
struck a village in the Kunlun Mountains of western Xinjiang Province
early in...
Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake kills two in Tajikistan. The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 7.2 Earthquake at a depth of 30 km about 50 km in
the Pamir Mountains of eastern Tajikistan...
Seventeen miners missing after gas explosion at mine in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Seventeen miners are missing after an explosion at a coal mine in
the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region...
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