1867 Manhattan, Kansas Earthquake
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The 1867 Manhattan earthquake struck
Riley County, Kansas Riley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. Its county seat and largest city is Manhattan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 71,959. The county was named after Bennet Riley, the 7th governor of California, and ...
, in the United States on April 24, 1867, at 20:22 UTC, or about . The strongest earthquake to originate in the state, it measured 5.1 on a
seismic scale Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at ...
that is based on an
isoseismal map In seismology, an isoseismal map is used to show Contour line, countour lines of equally felt seismic intensity, generally measured on the Modified Mercalli scale. Such maps help to identify earthquake epicenters, particularly where no seismometer ...
or the event's felt area. The earthquake's
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. Determination The primary purpose of a ...
was near the town of Manhattan. The earthquake had a maximum perceived intensity of VII (''Very strong'') on the
Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...
. It caused minor damage, reports of which were confined to Kansas,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, and
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, according to the
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
. Felt over an area of , the earthquake reached the states of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, and possibly
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
, though the latter reports have been questioned. Manhattan is near the Nemaha Ridge, a long
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...
structure that is bounded by several faults. The nearby in particular poses a threat to the city. Kansas is not known for earthquake activity, but an earthquake could occur at any time. A 2016 hazard map from the United States Geological Survey estimated a 1% or lower risk for a major earthquake in Kansas for the following year, though scientists from the agency think an
earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...
of magnitude 7.0 remains possible.


Background and geography

The earthquake's epicenter was near
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
, Kansas, a town just off the confluence of the
Kansas River The Kansas River, also known as the Kaw, is a meandering river in northeastern Kansas in the United States. It is potentially the southwestern most part of the Missouri River drainage, which is sometimes in turn the northwesternmost portion of ...
and the . Manhattan lies near the Nemaha Ridge, an
anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of Fold (geology), fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest Bed (geology), beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex curve, c ...
and 300‑million-year-old
Precambrian The Precambrian ( ; or pre-Cambrian, sometimes abbreviated pC, or Cryptozoic) is the earliest part of Earth's history, set before the current Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian is so named because it preceded the Cambrian, the first period of t ...
granite range bounded by faults, which likely produced the earthquake. It hosts the , which, in addition to serving as the range's easternmost boundary, has produced a large portion of the state's earthquakes. A
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, or dip-slip fault, it is responsible for at least several small tremors smaller than magnitude 2.7 each year. The fault cuts through
Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...
rock. Despite being previously thought to be a simple, Precambrian structure, according to the
Geological Society of America The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences. History The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hi ...
, it may be a complex fault. The Nemaha Range lies roughly east of the
Midcontinent rift The Midcontinent Rift System (MRS) or Keweenawan Rift is a long geological rift in the center of the North America, North American continent and south-central part of the North American plate. It formed when the continent's core, the North Ameri ...
, which forms a layer of basaltic rock about 1.1 billion years old. This rift extends northward to Lake Superior and the surrounding area and southward to Kansas, then terminates abruptly. Also present in the state is the Central Kansas Uplift, the faults of which produced several small earthquakes during the late 1980s. According to
United States Geological Survey The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The agency was founded on Mar ...
geophysicist Don Steeples, earthquakes at the Humboldt Zone have decreased, and activity at the Uplift was increasing as of the 1980s. Felt over an area of , with other sources listing the felt area as or , the 1867 earthquake followed the Midcontinent seismic trend: unlike coastal earthquakes in the United States, events in the central and east-central sectors of the country are spread out over extensive areas. This occurs as a result of the region's stiff soil, and because earthquakes in Kansas tend to occur at a shallow depth. The 1867 Manhattan earthquake remains the largest earthquake to originate in the state, though at least 25 have taken place since, including another powerful earthquake north of Manhattan in Pottawatomie County. In 2016, a magnitude 5.1 earthquake with an epicenter in Oklahoma shook the Manhattan area. According to a report in the ''
Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ''Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America'' (BSSA) is a bimonthly peer reviewed scientific journal published by the Seismological Society of America. The editor-in-chief is Thomas Pratt (geologist), Thomas Pratt (U. S. Geological Survey ...
'', the frequency of moderately strong earthquakes within the state is between 40 and 45 years. One study found that between December 1977 and June 1989, more than 100 earthquakes were recognized by a seismograph network. All were between 4.0 and 0.8 on the
Richter scale The Richter scale (), also called the Richter magnitude scale, Richter's magnitude scale, and the Gutenberg–Richter scale, is a measure of the strength of earthquakes, developed by Charles Richter in collaboration with Beno Gutenberg, and pr ...
.


Damage and casualties

Originating at 20:22 UTC, or around 2:30 local time, the earthquake was assigned a maximum
Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...
of VII, considered "very strong". Minor damage occurred throughout the geographical region, including 22 counties in Kansas, and injuries were reported as well. The earthquake fractured walls, downed chimneys, and otherwise damaged structures, even loosening stones. Within the epicentral area near Manhattan, clocks stopped, people felt
electrical shocks An electrical injury (electric injury) or electrical shock (electric shock) is damage sustained to the skin or internal organs on direct contact with an electric current. The injury depends on the density of the current, tissue resistance and ...
and inhabitants were frightened. The following day, an
aftershock In seismology, an aftershock is a smaller earthquake that follows a larger earthquake, in Epicenter, the same area of the Mainshock, main shock, caused as the displaced Crust (geology), crust adjusts to the effects of the main shock. Large earthq ...
occurred between 3 and 4 a.m. Damage within Manhattan and a number of other communities may have been exacerbated by their location within alluvial valleys. At a farm south of the city of Wamego, the earthquake caused
liquefaction In materials science, liquefaction is a process that generates a liquid from a solid or a gas or that generates a non-liquid phase which behaves in accordance with fluid dynamics. It occurs both naturally and artificially. As an example of t ...
of the ground. To the north of Wamego, in the city of
Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
, the earthquake knocked over horses. In both Louisville and the city of Leavenworth, chimneys fell; in
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, the earthquake destroyed one wall of a large Republican newspaper office building. Waves were observed on the Kansas River, reaching in height. The city of Atchison felt two shocks, which felled lamps and bottles at a drug store, rocked buildings, and disrupted water flow in rivers and creeks. Though no buildings in the city sustained damage, people fled into the streets. In Emporia, the earthquake was accompanied by a low rumbling sound, windows rattled, and small boxes were thrown off of shelves as people fled buildings. The city's brick and stone houses sustained more damage than framed homes. The city of Fort Scott only experienced trembling, whereas
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had houses and tableware shake. In Holton, items were knocked off shelves, and buildings shook. Residents of Irving also heard rumbling prior to the earthquake, experiencing severe tremors that lasted 30 seconds, while buildings in Junction City shook violently, moving several inches. In
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
, tables moved, walls cracked, water spilled from glasses, plaster cracked, and the shaking caused general panic. The city of
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felt three earthquakes within 30 seconds, with violent shaking of doors and windows, broken plaster, a rumbling noise, stones knocked off a local church, rattling of silverware and glassware, and the overturning of a stove in one home. Similarly, in the city of Leavenworth, three shocks were felt over 30 seconds. In Leavenworth, a man was knocked off a hayload, a rumbling noise was heard, and clocks stopped. Moreover, saws leaning against walls were moved , plaster at one home cracked for the entire length of the house's ceiling, and one woman experienced an electrical shock from spring water. In the city of
Lecompton Lecompton (pronounced ) is a city in Douglas County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 588. Lecompton, located on the Kansas River, was the ''de jure'' territorial capital of Kansas from 1855 to 18 ...
, one of the buildings at Lane University shook, and a
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
in the city of Marysville also shook violently. Within
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, people in moving vehicles did not feel the earthquake. Houses shook in Mound City,
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, and
Olathe Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 population of 141,290. History 19th century Olathe ...
, as well as in the city of Oskaloosa, where the
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(a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure) of a new school wobbled. In Paola, people standing were nearly knocked over during the earthquake. A train on the
Pacific Railroad The Pacific Railroad (not to be confused with Union Pacific Railroad) was a railroad based in Missouri. It was a predecessor of both the Missouri Pacific Railroad and St. Louis-San Francisco Railway. The Pacific was chartered by Missouri in 184 ...
in
Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...
shook violently, and was stopped and evacuated out of fear that its boiler would explode. In
Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...
, the
capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
of Kansas, the ceiling of a
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church was bent, and nearly all of the windows in one schoolhouse were destroyed. Two shocks were felt in the city of White Cloud, and sleeping people were awakened in . Reports from the states of
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
and
Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...
, including descriptions of fallen plaster in
Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
, shaking of buildings and people in
rocking chair A rocking chair or rocker is a type of chair with two curved bands (also known as rockers) attached to the bottom of the legs, connecting the legs on each side to each other. The rockers contact the floor at only two points, giving the occupant ...
s in
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, and fallen and cracked plaster in Chillicothe, complement additional reports of fallen plaster and
roof shingle A roof’s shingles are a roof covering consisting of individual overlapping elements. These elements are typically flat, rectangular shapes laid in courses from the bottom edge of the roof up, with each successive course overlapping the joint ...
s, damaged wells, and cracked walls. Other events reported in Dubuque included three shocks, which caused vibration of
gas burner A gas burner is a device that produces a non-controlled flame by mixing a fuel gas such as acetylene, natural gas, or propane with an oxidizer such as the ambient air or supplied oxygen, and allowing for wikt:ignition, ignition and combustion. ...
s; general panic among residents; rattling of windows; shaking of chairs, cases holding newspapers, and windows; and holes in brick walls. In the city of
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in Missouri, the windows broke, women fainted, and a rumbling noise could be heard. Within the city, a new school building's brick walls cracked several feet above the ground as people fled into the streets. In
Warrensburg, Missouri Warrensburg is a city in and the county seat of Johnson County, Missouri, United States. Its population was 20,313 at the 2020 census. The Warrensburg micropolitan statistical area consists of Johnson County. The city is a college town, as it is ...
, the walls of a church shook, but there was no damage. The earthquake also extended into the states of
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
and
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, according to the , and a questionable report came from Carthage in
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
that a segment of the ground, in area, sunk by , forming a perpendicular wall deep on each of its sides. A series of articles published by the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' describes the extent of the damage throughout the state of Kansas. The article "At Kansas City" details that the earthquake jolted homes with a sudden burst, giving off a resonating roar like thunder. The ''Tribune'' observed in its article "At Leavenworth, Kansas" that the earthquake was completely unexpected, describing the event as " ..sudden in its coming and departure." It confirmed that earthquakes were not common in earlier times and stated that "all were more or less startled, and, indeed, frightened."


Future threats

Although Kansas is not seismically active, a strong earthquake could pose significant threats to the state. If an earthquake were to occur, it would likely be along the Nemaha Ridge, which is still active. The Humboldt Fault Zone, just off the Ridge, lies just east of the near Manhattan. An earthquake there would likely destroy the dam, releasing of water per second and flooding the nearby area, which would threaten roughly 13,000 people and 5,900 homes. The
United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...
concluded that a moderate earthquake "between 5.7 and 6.6 would cause sand underneath the dam to liquefy into quicksand, causing the dam to spread out and the top to drop up to three feet." A large earthquake would spawn gaps, forcing water to leak and eventually cause the dam to collapse. Earthquakes that could pose a threat to the dam occur on a cycle of roughly 1,800 years. To counter this threat, the Corps of Engineers has galvanized an effort to strengthen the dam. Replacing the sand (which could shift during an earthquake) with more than 350 walls, the group has equipped the dam with sensors, which are connected to alarms that would alert nearby citizens to the earthquake. More than 500 earthquakes have been measured in the state since 2013, contributing to the reactivation of ancient fault lines. In 2016, the United States Geological Survey made hazard maps for the state, determining a 1% or lower risk of a major earthquake within the next year. Because Sedgwick County and Wichita could both potentially experience shaking from earthquakes that could not be withstood according to existing building codes, officials in the area proposed changing building codes to meet perceived hazards. Scientists at the United States Geological Survey think an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 remains possible, possibly originating from the Nemaha Ridge where the Manhattan quake was produced.


See also

*
List of earthquakes in the United States The following is a list of notable earthquakes and tsunamis which had their epicenter in areas that are now part of the United States with the latter affecting areas of the United States. Those in ''italics'' were not part of the United States wh ...
*
List of historical earthquakes Historical earthquakes is a list of significant earthquakes known to have occurred prior to the early 20th century. As the events listed here occurred before routine instrumental recordings, they rely mainly on the analysis of written sources, ...


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manhattan, Kansas Earthquake, 1867 1867 in Kansas 1867 earthquakes Earthquakes in the United States Natural disasters in Kansas April 1867 Riley County, Kansas 1867 earthquake 1867 natural disasters in the United States Natural disasters in Missouri