The United States Geological Survey recorded
a Magnitude 4.4 Earthquake at a depth of about 24.9 km, about 5 km to the southwest
of the town of Donja Brela in the Dalmatia Region of Croatia slightly after 1.50 pm local time (slightly after 12.50
pm GMT) on Saturday 3 February 2018.There are no reports of any damage of or casualties associated with this event, but it was felt in the Dalmatia Region, and in neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The approximate location of the 3 February 2018 Dalmatian Earthquake. USGS.
The
states of the western Balkan Peninsula form 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).
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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