The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake at a depth of 33 km in the Kirthar Mountains of Balochistan Province, slightly after 1.10 am local time on Monday 28 July 2014 (slightly after 8.10 pm on Sunday 27 July, GMT). There are no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this quake, though it is likely to have been felt locally.
The approximate location of the 28 July 2014 Kirthar Mountains 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.
Plate boundaries and movements beneath southern Pakistan and Iran and the Arabian Sea. University of Southampton.
See also...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.9 Earthquake at a depth of 20.8 km in the northern Kirthar...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.3 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km in the Kirthar Mountains of eastern...
The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 4.7 Earthquake at a depth of 15.6 km in southern Balochistan Province...
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