1638 New Hampshire earthquake

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1638 New Hampshire earthquake
USA New Hampshire location map.svg
Bullseye1.png
USGS-ANSS ComCat
Local dateJune 1, 1638 (1638-06)
Local time1–2 p.m.
Magnitude6.5±0.5 mbLg [1]
Epicenter 43°18′N71°36′W / 43.3°N 71.6°W / 43.3; -71.6
Areas affected British America
Max. intensity MMI IX (Violent)

The 1638 New Hampshire earthquake struck central New Hampshire on June 1, 1638 (Julian calendar). [2] It was the first major earthquake to strike New England following the start of European colonization. Modern analysis places its epicenter somewhere near what is now central New Hampshire, with an estimated magnitude between 6.0 and 7.0 mbLg . [1] [3] This makes it the largest earthquake on record in New Hampshire and New England, and the second strongest in northeastern North America after the 1663 Charlevoix earthquake.

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The 1940 New Hampshire earthquakes struck on December 20 and again on December 24. Both shocks had an estimated Ms magnitude of 5.6, and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. These doublet earthquakes were the largest to hit the state in several hundred years. Damage included minor fractures or knocked over chimneys in a zone extending through New Hampshire and four other states: Maine, New York, Vermont and Massachusetts.

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The geology of New Hampshire is similar to that of the rest of New England in comprising a series of metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks of Late Proterozoic to Devonian age, intruded by many plutons and dikes ranging in age from Late Proterozoic to early Cretaceous. New Hampshire is known as "the Granite State", but less than half is underlain by granite; much of it is schist or gneiss, both of which are metamorphic rocks.

A series of mainshocks struck Calabria on March 27–28 and June 9, 1638. The first three earthquakes had moment magnitudes estimated to be Mw 6.6–7.1. On June 9, another mainshock estimated at Mw  6.7 struck the same region, causing further damage and casualties. The four earthquakes resulted in as many as 30,000 fatalities.

References

  1. 1 2 Ebel, J.E.; Starr, J.C. (2018). "A Geophysical and Field Survey for the Source Region of the 1638 New Hampshire Earthquake". Seismological Research Letters. 89 (3): 1197–1211. Bibcode:2018SeiRL..89.1197E. doi:10.1785/0220170266.
  2. Sidney Perley.The Earthquake of 1638. United States Geological Survey
  3. "The great New England quake of 1638". marybarrettdyer.blogspot.ca. 7 September 2011.