The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 4.8 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km roughly 56 km
to the northeast of the village of Botlhapatlou in Kweneng District, Botswana, at slightly after 4.35 am
local time (slightly after 2.35 am GMT) on Saturday 12 August 2017. This is a
large Earthquake by Southern African standards, and was felt across
most of eastern Botswana, as well as in South Africa as far away as Johannesburg, though there are no reports of any damage or casualties.
The approximate location of the 12 August 2017 Kweneng District Earthquake. USGS.
Earthquakes are rare in Southern Africa, making this one of the largest
Earthquakes ever recorded in the country. Because of this rarity it is
hard to make precise judgements about the
cause of quakes in the region, due to a paucity of data. Botswana is
close the southern end of the Great Rift Valley exits
the continent and passes out under the Indian Ocean. The Great Rift
Valley is slowly splitting the African Plate in two allow 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.
Movement on the African Rift Valley, with associated volcanoes. Rob Gamesby/Cool Geography.
Witness
accounts of Earthquakes can help geologists to understand these events,
and the structures that cause them. The international non-profit
organisation 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...
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