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Major magnitude 7.3 earthquake - 106 km east of Kucha, Xinjiang, China, on Wednesday, 23 February 1949 at 16:08 (GMT)

Major magnitude 7.3 earthquake at 10 km depth
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I felt this quake
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Date & time: 23 Feb 1949 16:08:11 UTC
Magnitude: 7.3Depth: 10.0 km
Epicenter latitude / longitude: 41.865°N / 84.191°E

(
Xinjiang,
China)
Nearest volcano:
Tianshan (156 km / 97 mi)
Nearby towns and cities:106 km (66 mi) E of Kucha (pop: 68,100) -->
See nearby quakes!163 km (101 mi) W of Korla (pop: 179,500) -->
See nearby quakes!190 km (118 mi) SSE of Xinyuan (pop: 300,000) -->
See nearby quakes!286 km (177 mi) ENE of Aral (pop: 260,000) -->
See nearby quakes!310 km (192 mi) SSW of Shihezi (pop: 572,800) -->
See nearby quakes!332 km (207 mi) SE of Qapqal (pop: 160,000) -->
See nearby quakes!334 km (208 mi) ENE of Aksu (pop: 340,000) -->
See nearby quakes!348 km (216 mi) SW of Changji (pop: 198,800) -->
See nearby quakes!352 km (219 mi) SW of urumaci (pop: 3,029,400) -->
See nearby quakes!364 km (226 mi) SE of Huocheng (pop: 360,000) -->
See nearby quakes!Primary data source:
USGS (United States Geological Survey)
Estimated released energy: 5.6 x 10
15 joules (1562 gigawatt hours, equivalent to 1.3 x 10
6 tons of TNT or 84 atomic bombs!)
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Data for the same earthquake reported by different agencies
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Magnitude | Depth | Location | Source |
7.3 | 10 km | southern Xinjiang, China | USGS |
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Aftershocks
More info
Based on its magnitude, the fault that was active during the quake ruptured along a surface of approx. 1995 km
2 (=770 sqare miles) as a first-order estimate. The length of the rupture zone thus was probably around 77 km (48 mi).
Aftershocks typically occur during the weeks, months or even a year following the quake at or near the same fault, at distances of up to approx. two times the length of the rupture zone.
The often broadly linear arrangement of aftershock epicenters encompasses the rupture zone of the main shock (check on the
map below to verify).
Recorded aftershocks, latest first (0 quakes):So far, no aftershocks have been registered.Earlier earthquakes in the same area
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