The 1931 Zangezur earthquake occurred on April 27 at with a moment magnitude of 6.5. The earthquake was located in the

Zangezur Mountains The Zangezur Mountains (, ) are a mountain range that defines the border between Armenia's southern provinces of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The Zangezur region has the second-largest tract of forests ...

near the boundary between southwestern

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

's exclave, the

Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

. Both territories were part of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

at that time.

Tectonic setting

The Pambak-Sevan-Sunik Fault extends in the NW–SE direction. The fault can be traced continuously for 400 km and consists of four major segments. The 1931 Zangezur earthquake was located in the area of the Sunik-Zanghezour segment, which is about 120 km long. The fault was also the source of the magnitude 7.5+

1139 Ganja earthquake The 1139 Ganja earthquake was one of the worst seismic events in history. It affected the Seljuk Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia, in modern-day Azerbaijan and Georgia (country), Georgia. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 , 7.5 an ...

; the largest and most destructive seismic event in the Caucasus.

Earthquake

The earthquake was located near the border between the

Syunik Province Syunik (, ) is the southernmost province of Armenia. It is bordered by the Vayots Dzor Province to the north, Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic exclave to the west, Azerbaijan to the east, and Iran to the south. Its capital and larg ...

of Armenia (''Zangezur'' is an alternative name for the region of Syunik Province) and the Nakhichivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. Up to 2,890 were reported dead. In Armenia, 57 villages were destroyed or heavily damaged in the Sisian-Goris area and in Azerbaijan, 46 villages were destroyed or seriously damaged in the Ordubad area. In another source it was reported that the earthquake destroyed 254 villages. In southeastern Armenia, the historical

Tatev Monastery The Tatev Monastery () is a 9th-century Armenian Apostolic Christian monastery located on a large basalt plateau near the village of Tatev in the Syunik Province in southeastern Armenia. The term "Tatev" usually refers to the monastery. The mo ...

was damaged. The MSK-64 intensity reached IX (''Destructive'') in Shamb and VIII (''Damaging'') in Jougha. The Museum of History in

Sisian Sisian ( ) is a town and the centre of the Sisian Municipality of the Syunik Province in southern Armenia. It is located on both banks of the Vorotan River, at an altitude of 1600 m above sea level, 6 km south of the Yerevan- Meghri highway, at ...

has some photos taken after the town was hit by the earthquake.

Previous seismicity

There was a period of increased earthquake activity in Armenia and its neighboring republics between 1911 and 1956 and the 1931 event was one of the strongest. It released about half of the total energy of all the earthquakes occurring in the Caucasus region near the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

in that period."On the periodicity of seismic activity during the last one and a half to two thousand years (based on the example of Armenia)" by G. P. Tamrazyan

References

External links

* {{Earthquakes in the 1930s Earthquakes in Armenia Earthquakes in Azerbaijan Earthquakes in the Soviet Union 1931 in the Soviet Union Zangezur earthquake, 1931 1930s in Armenia 1930s in Azerbaijan April 1931 in Europe 20th-century disasters in Armenia 20th-century disasters in Azerbaijan 1931 disasters in the Soviet Union

Tectonic setting

Earthquake

Previous seismicity

See also

References

External links