The Great Rift Valley is a series of contiguous geographic trenches, approximately 7,000 kilometres (4,300 mi) in total length, that runs from the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon which is in Asia to Mozambique in Southeast Africa. While the name continues in some usages, it is rarely used in geology as it is considered an imprecise merging of separate though related rift and fault systems.
The Arabian Plate is a minor tectonic plate in the northern and eastern hemispheres.
The 1138 Aleppo earthquake was among the deadliest earthquakes in history. Its name was taken from the city of Aleppo, in northern Syria, where the most casualties were sustained. Although, the earthquake caused damage and chaos to many other places surrounding Syria such as Turkey, a city European crusaders had built, and Damascus. The quake occurred on 11 October 1138 and was preceded by a smaller quake on the 10th. It is frequently listed as the third deadliest earthquake in history, following on from the Shensi and Tangshan earthquakes in China. However, the figure of 230,000 deaths reported by Ibn Taghribirdi in the fifteenth century is based on a historical conflation of this earthquake with earthquakes in November 1137 on the Jazira plain and the large seismic event of 30 September 1139 in the Transcaucasian city of Ganja.
The Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system, also sometimes referred to as the Dead Sea Rift, is a series of faults that run from the Maras Triple Junction to the northern end of the Red Sea Rift. The fault system forms the transform boundary between the African Plate to the west and the Arabian Plate to the east. It is a zone of left lateral displacement, signifying the relative motions of the two plates. Both plates are moving in a general north-northeast direction, but the Arabian Plate is moving faster, resulting in the observed left lateral motions along the fault of approximately 107 km. A component of extension is also present in the southern part of the transform, which has contributed to a series of depressions, or pull-apart basins, forming the Gulf of Aqaba, Dead Sea, Sea of Galilee, and Hula basins.
The 1202 Syria earthquake struck at about dawn on 20 May 1202 with an epicenter in southwestern Syria. Up to 1,100,000 deaths have been associated with this earthquake, although other estimates are much smaller. It was felt over a very wide area, from Sicily to Mesopotamia and Anatolia to upper Egypt, mostly affecting the Ayyubid Sultanate and the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The cities of Tyre, Acre and Nablus were heavily damaged. A magnitude of = 7.6 has been estimated with damage up to XI on the Mercalli intensity scale.
The Galilee earthquake of 1837, often called the Safed earthquake, shook the Galilee on January 1 and is one of a number of moderate to large events that have occurred along the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system that marks the boundary of two tectonic plates; the African Plate on the west and the Arabian Plate on the east. Intensity assessments for the event were VIII (Damaging) on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale and VIII on the European Macroseismic Scale.
The Near East earthquakes of 1759 were a series of devastating earthquakes that shook a large portion of the Levant in October and November of that year. This geographical crossroads in the Eastern Mediterranean were at the time under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The ruins of Baalbek, a settlement in the Beqaa Valley of Lebanon east of the Litani River, were badly damaged. These 1759 events, along with the earlier 1202 Syria earthquake, are likely the strongest historical earthquakes in the region.
The Galilee earthquake of 363 was a pair of severe earthquakes that shook the Galilee and nearby regions on May 18 and 19. The maximum perceived intensity for the events was estimated to be VII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The earthquakes occurred on the portion of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system between the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba.
A devastating earthquake known in scientific literature as the Earthquake of 749 struck on January 18, 749, in areas of the Umayyad Caliphate, with the epicenter in Galilee. The most severely affected areas were parts of Palestine and western Transjordan. The cities of Tiberias, Beit She'an Pella, Gadara, and Hippos were largely destroyed while many other cities across the Levant were heavily damaged. The casualties numbered in the tens of thousands.
The 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake occurred on November 22 at 06:15 local time and registered 7.3 on the scale. The epicenter was located in the central segment of the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow body of water that separates Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from the western border of Saudi Arabia. At least 8 people were killed and 30 were injured in the meizoseismal area.
The 1303 Crete earthquake occurred at about dawn on 8 August. It had an estimated magnitude of about 8, a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, and triggered a major tsunami that caused severe damage and loss of life on Crete and at Alexandria.
The 551 Beirut earthquake occurred on 9 July with an estimated magnitude of about 7.5 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a devastating tsunami which affected the coastal towns of Byzantine Phoenicia, causing great destruction and sinking many ships. Overall large numbers of people were reported killed, with one estimate of 30,000 by the Anonymous pilgrim of Piacenza for Beirut alone.
The 115 Antioch earthquake occurred on 13 December 115 AD. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 on the surface wave magnitude scale and an estimated maximum intensity of XI (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Antioch and surrounding areas were devastated with a great loss of life and property. It triggered a local tsunami that badly damaged the harbour at Caesarea Maritima. The Roman Emperor Trajan was caught in the earthquake, as was his successor Hadrian. Although the consul Marcus Pedo Vergilianus was killed, they escaped with only slight injuries and later began a program to rebuild the city.
The 1956 Chim earthquake was a destructive multiple-shock event that occurred on March 16 in Lebanon along a strand of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) fault system. The epicenter was located in the south of Lebanon in the Chouf District. Six thousand homes were destroyed and another 17,000 were damaged. The number of persons killed was 136.
The 1068 Near East earthquake was a major earthquake, or more likely two successive events in adjacent parts of the same region, which occurred in the Near East on the morning of 18 March and on 29 May, AD 1068. The two earthquakes are often amalgamated by contemporary sources. The first event had its epicentre somewhere in the northwestern part of the Arabian Peninsula around Tabuk, while the second was most damaging in the city of Ramla in Palestine, some 500 km to the northwest.
The 1170 Syria earthquake was one of the largest earthquakes to hit Syria. It occurred early in the morning of 29 June 1170. It formed part of a sequence of large earthquakes that propagated southwards along the Dead Sea Transform, starting with the 1138 Aleppo earthquake, continuing with the 1157 Hama, 1170 and 1202 Syria events. The estimated magnitude is 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale, with the maximum intensity of X (extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale.
The geology of Lebanon remains poorly studied prior to the Jurassic. The country is heavily dominated by limestone, sandstone, other sedimentary rocks, and basalt, defined by its tectonic history. In Lebanon, 70% of exposed rocks are limestone karst.
The 92 BC Levant earthquake is mentioned in catalogues of historical earthquakes. An earthquake and a tsunami reportedly affected areas of the Levant, including the modern states of Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, and Syria.
The 1856 Heraklion earthquake, also known as the Crete earthquake or Rhodes earthquake occurred on the morning of October 12 at 02:45 am local time. This extremely catastrophic earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 to 8.3 at a depth of approximately 61 to 100 km. The earthquake was felt over a very wide area extending from Sicily, Italy to the Levant and North Africa. On the Greek island of Crete, the effects of the earthquake were cataclysmic, over 500 bodies were recovered in the city of Heraklion. Shockwaves from the earthquake were felt intensely, covering all of the Ottoman Empire; present-day Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East where damage and human losses were reported. In Malta, the earthquake collapsed the Għajn Ħadid Tower—a coastal watchtower built around the year 1638. In Cairo, Egypt, the earthquake destroyed buildings, created seiches in canals, and killed several people. Off the Egyptian and Italian coasts, sailors reported feeling a seaquake.
