The 1887 Verny earthquake occurred on June 8 at 04:35

local time Local time is the time observed in a specific locality. There is no canonical definition. Originally it was mean solar time, but since the introduction of time zones it is generally the time as determined by the time zone in effect, with daylight s ...

in the

Turkestan Turkestan, also spelled Turkistan ( fa, ترکستان, Torkestân, lit=Land of the Turks), is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and Xinjiang. Overview Known as Turan to the Persians, western Turke ...

region of present-day

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. It had an

epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...

in the northern foothills of the

Trans-Ili Alatau Ile Alatau ( kk, Ile Alatauy, ''Іле Алатауы''), also spelt as Trans-Ili Alatau, is a part of the Northern Tian Shan mountain system (ancient Mount Imeon) in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. It is the northernmost mountain range of Tian Shan st ...

mountain range, or just south of the city of Verny, (now

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

). This earthquake destroyed the city of Verny, killing at least 330 people. A

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...

of 7.3–7.7 and MSK 64 intensity of X (''Devastating'') has been estimated for the earthquake.

Tectonic setting

The geological forces at play in the

region are directly related to the ongoing collision of the

Indian Plate The Indian Plate (or India Plate) is a minor tectonic plate straddling the equator in the Eastern Hemisphere. Originally a part of the ancient continent of Gondwana, the Indian Plate broke away from the other fragments of Gondwana , began mov ...

with the

Eurasian Plate The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

. The topography of this region is influenced by broad crustal deformation as a result of convergence along the

Main Himalayan Thrust The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a NW-SE strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dip towards the north, beneath the region. It is the largest active continental megathrust f ...

. Before the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia, there were

island arc Island arcs are long chains of active volcanoes with intense seismic activity found along convergent tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have resulted from the descent of the lithosphere into the mantle alon ...

s and

microcontinent Continental crustal fragments, partly synonymous with microcontinents, are pieces of continents that have broken off from main continental masses to form distinct islands that are often several hundred kilometers from their place of origin. Caus ...

s between the two landmasses that were also converging. These terranes were later accreted to Eurasia as northward-moving India closed collided with Eurasia, and are now in present-day Central Asia. Ancient suture zones mark the boundary between these accreted terranes. This deformation and accretion led to the formation of the

Tien Shan mountains The Tian Shan,, , otk, 𐰴𐰣 𐱅𐰭𐰼𐰃, , tr, Tanrı Dağı, mn, Тэнгэр уул, , ug, تەڭرىتاغ, , , kk, Тәңіртауы / Алатау, , , ky, Теңир-Тоо / Ала-Тоо, , , uz, Tyan-Shan / Tangritog‘ ...

, which are moving 7±2 mm/yr towards the south along faults running along their base. The region is dominated by large, north and south-dipping

thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...

s along the southern edge of the Tien Shan mountains, and the northern boundary of the Tarim basin, one of them being the Aheqi Fault Zone.

Earthquake

The earthquake was felt over an area of 2,000,000 km², but severe ground effects were observed approximately for 2,000 km². In the

meizoseismal area The meizoseismal area in an earthquake is the area of maximum damage. For example, in the Charleston, South Carolina, earthquake of 1886, the meizoseismal area was an area about twenty by thirty miles stretching northeast between Charleston and ...

, the northern foothills of the

(part of the Tien Shan), the maximum MSK 64 intensity was evaluated at IX to X. In Verny, the earthquake was felt with an intensity of IX. Based on analyzing the seismic intensity of the earthquake through

isoseismal map In seismology, an isoseismal map is used to show lines of equally felt seismic intensity, generally measured on the Modified Mercalli scale. Such maps help to identify earthquake epicenters, particularly where no instrumental records exist, such as ...

s, the moment magnitude of this earthquake was determind to fall within the range of 7.3 and 7.8 . A

focal depth In seismology, the depth of focus or focal depth refers to the depth at which an earthquake occurs. Earthquakes occurring at a depth of less than are classified as shallow-focus earthquakes, while those with a focal depth between and are commonl ...

of 20 km was estimated.

Thrust fault A thrust fault is a break in the Earth's crust, across which older rocks are pushed above younger rocks. Thrust geometry and nomenclature Reverse faults A thrust fault is a type of reverse fault that has a dip of 45 degrees or less. If ...

ing was the cause of the earthquake, likely associated with a structure lying under the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains. It did not produce any

surface rupture In seismology, surface rupture (or ground rupture, or ground displacement) is the visible offset of the ground surface when an earthquake rupture along a fault affects the Earth's surface. Surface rupture is opposed by buried rupture, where the ...

, thus classifying it as a

blind thrust earthquake A blind thrust earthquake occurs along a thrust fault that does not show signs on the Earth's surface, hence the designation "blind". Such faults, being invisible at the surface, have not been mapped by standard surface geological mapping. Sometim ...

. Surface evidence of faults lying under the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains are sparse and sometimes absent due to the fast erosion occurring, or do not break to the surface. Due to the absence of surface ruptures, it is not clear if the earthquake rupture faults on the foothills or within the mountain range.

Impact

In the

, large landslides merged into a single

mudflow A mudflow or mud flow is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/second. Mudflows contain a significa ...

. In the

Talgar Talgar ( kk, Талғар, translit=Talğar, ; russian: Талгар) is a town in Almaty Region, southeastern Kazakhstan. It is the administrative center of Talgar District. The town is located between Almaty and Esik, 25 km from Almaty and ...

Valley, two landslides occurred with a total estimated volume of 500 m³. Shaking corresponded to intensity VI, causing the destruction of 265 of the 576 homes in Talgar. In Verny, of the 1,799 brick structures in the city, only one was left standing. Wood-constructed buildings, however, remained intact. Many previously intact buildings collapsed during the at least 250

aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in the same area of the main shock, caused as the displaced crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthquakes can have hundreds to thousand ...

s that rocked the region. At least 332 people were killed the city of Verny. Of which, 161 people died (118 of them were children) in Bolshoi-Almatinskaya and Malo-Almatinskaya villages. Fourteen people; four soldiers and ten prisoners were killed at a

barrack Barracks are usually a group of long buildings built to house military personnel or laborers. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word "barraca" ("soldier's tent"), but today barracks are u ...

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

s were triggered in the mountains, killing 154 people, 87 of them were Kyrgyz.

References

{{Earthquakes in Russia Earthquakes in Russia History of Almaty Earthquakes in Kazakhstan Earthquakes in Kyrgyzstan

Earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Tian Shan June 1887 events Buried rupture earthquakes

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Impact

See also

References