The United States Geological Survey
recorded a Magnitude 5.0 Earthquake at a depth of about 10.0 km, roughly
10 km to the northwest of the town of Shijak in west-central Albania, slightly after 11.00 am local
time (slightly after 9.00 am GMT) on Wednesday 4 June 2018. There are
no reports of any damage or injuries associated with this event, but
people have reported feeling the quake across much of Albania, as well as in the neighbouring states of Macedonia, Montenegro, and Croatia, and in southern Italy on the other side of the Adriatic.
The approximate location of the 4 June 2018 Albania Earthquake. USGS.
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).
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...
Follow Sciency Thoughts on Facebook.
