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 ...

Russian Turkestan Russian Turkestan () was a colony of the Russian Empire, located in the western portion of the Central Asian region of Turkestan. Administered as a Krai or Governor-Generalship, it comprised the oasis region to the south of the Kazakh Steppe, b ...

(in present-day

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

). 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. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

in the northern foothills of the

Trans-Ili Alatau Ile Alatau (, ''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, stretching for ...

mountain range, or just south of the city of Verny, then the administrative centre of

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

Semirechye Oblast The Semirechyenskaya Oblast () was an oblast (province) of the Russian Empire. It corresponded approximately to most of present-day southeastern Kazakhstan and northeastern Kyrgyzstan. It was created out of the territories of the northern part of ...

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

moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mwg, 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. was defined in a 1979 paper ...

of 7.3–7.7 and

MSK 64 MSK may refer to the following: * Common abbreviation for Human musculoskeletal system * ''Marinestosstruppkompanie'', German naval assault troops * Postal code for Marsaskala, Malta * Station code for Marske railway station, England * Medullary spo ...

intensity of X (''Devastating'') has been estimated for the earthquake.

Tectonic setting

The geological forces at play in the

Turkestan Turkestan,; ; ; ; also spelled Turkistan, is a historical region in Central Asia corresponding to the regions of Transoxiana and East Turkestan (Xinjiang). The region is located in the northwest of modern day China and to the northwest of its ...

region are directly related to the ongoing collision of the

Indian Plate The Indian plate (or India plate) is or was 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 an ...

with the Eurasian Plate. 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 northwest-southeast strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dips about 10 degrees towards the north, beneath the region. It is the large ...

. Before the Indian subcontinent collided with Eurasia, there were

island arc Island arcs are long archipelago, chains of active volcanoes with intense earthquake, seismic activity found along convergent boundary, convergent plate tectonics, tectonic plate boundaries. Most island arcs originate on oceanic crust and have re ...

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, also known as the Tengri Tagh or Tengir-Too, meaning the "Mountains of God/Heaven", is a large system of mountain ranges in Central Asia. The highest peak is Jengish Chokusu at high and located in Kyrgyzstan. Its lowest point is ...

, 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. I ...

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 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 ...

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

focal depth In seismology, the depth of focus or focal depth is 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 commonly terme ...

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. I ...

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 (geology), fault affects the Earth's surface. Surface rupture is opposed by buried rup ...

, 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, also known as mudslide or mud flow, is a form of mass wasting involving fast-moving flow of debris and dirt that has become liquified by the addition of water. Such flows can move at speeds ranging from 3 meters/minute to 5 meters/se ...

. In the

Talgar Talgar (, ; ) 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 several kilometres east of Birlik. Population: ...

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 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 ...

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

barrack Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

Landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslides ...

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 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 ...

Tian Shan June 1887 Buried rupture earthquakes 1880s disasters in the Russian Empire 1880s disasters in Asia

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Impact

See also

References