The 2011 Colorado earthquake occurred on August 22 at 11:46 PM MDT with a moment magnitude of 5.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very Strong). The epicenter of the intraplate earthquake was 10 mi (20 km) west northwest of Trinidad, Colorado, and 180 mi (290 km) south of Denver, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).[1][3][4][5][6] It was the largest natural earthquake to affect Colorado for more than a hundred years.[3]
  | |
| UTC time | 2011-08-23 05:46:18 |
|---|---|
| USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
| Local date | August 22, 2011 |
| Local time | 23:46:18 MDT[1] |
| Magnitude | 5.3 Mw[1] |
| Depth | 2.6 mi (4.2 km)[1] |
| Epicenter | 37°04′N 104°42′W / 37.07°N 104.7°W |
| Type | Dip-slip |
| Areas affected | Colorado United States |
| Max. intensity | MMI VII (Very strong)[1][2] |
The earthquake occurred as part of a swarm of smaller quakes that started the previous day. The last time the Colorado region received a series of earthquakes was in 2001, when about a dozen smaller-sized temblors were recorded.[1] The shock occurred as a result of normal faulting and was similar in depth, style and location to the events that made up the 2001 swarm.
See also
edit
- List of earthquakes in 2011
- List of earthquakes in the United States
- 2011 Virginia earthquake – Second M 5.0+ earthquake to hit the United States in less than a day, occurring almost 12 hours later.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f "M5.3 – Colorado". United States Geological Survey. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
- ^ "Pager– M 5.3– Colorado". United States Geological Survey. 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ a b Johnson, Kirk (August 23, 2011). "Rare Strong Earthquake Hits Colorado". The New York Times. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ "Minor damage from magnitude-5.3 Colorado quake". Associated Press. August 23, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.[dead link]
- ^ Williams, Alia (August 23, 2011). "Aftershocks continue to shake Colorado". KXRM. Archived from the original on October 8, 2012. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
- ^ "No major damage in region in wake of earthquake". The Times-Tribune (Scranton). August 23, 2011. Retrieved August 23, 2011.
Sources
- Barnhart, W. D.; Benz, H. M.; Hayes, G. P.; Rubenstein, J. L.; Bergman, E. (2014), "Seismological and geodetic constraints on the 2011 Mw5.3 Trinidad, Colorado earthquake and induced deformation in the Raton Basin", Journal of Geophysical Research, 119 (10), American Geophysical Union: 7923–7933, Bibcode:2014JGRB..119.7923B, doi:10.1002/2014JB011227, S2CID 128633076
- Rubinsetein, J. L.; Ellsworth, W. L.; McGarr, A.; Benz, H. M. (2014), "The 2001–Present Induced Earthquake Sequence in the Raton Basin of Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado", Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America, 104 (5), Seismological Society of America: 2162–2181, Bibcode:2014BuSSA.104.2162R, doi:10.1785/0120140009[permanent dead link]