Northern Anatolia was struck by a large earthquake on 17 August 1668 in the late morning. It had an estimated magnitude in the range 7.8–8.0 Ms and the maximum felt intensity was IX on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale. The epicenter of the earthquake was on the southern shore of Ladik Lake. It caused widespread damage from as far west as Bolu and as far east as Erzincan, resulting in about 8,000 deaths. It is thought to be the most powerful earthquake in Turkey.
HINT:
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: 1668 North Anatolia earthquake
- 1668 North Anatolia earthquake in the context of 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake
- 1668 North Anatolia earthquake in the context of 1939 Erzincan earthquake
1668 North Anatolia earthquake in the context of 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake
On 6 February 2023, at 04:17:35 TRT (01:17:35 UTC), a moment magnitude (Mw ) 7.8 earthquake struck southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria. The epicenter was 37 km (23 mi) west–northwest of Gaziantep. This strike-slip shock achieved a Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme) around the epicenter and in Antakya. It was followed by a Mw 7.7 earthquake, at 13:24:49 TRT (10:24:49 UTC). This earthquake was centered 95 km (59 mi) north-northwest from the first. There was widespread severe damage and tens of thousands of fatalities.
The Mw 7.8 earthquake is the largest to strike Turkey since the 1939 Erzincan earthquake of the same magnitude, and jointly the second-largest in the country, after larger estimates for the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake. It is also one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the Levant. It was felt as far as Egypt and the Black Sea coast of Turkey. There were more than 30,000 aftershocks in the three months that followed. The seismic sequence was the result of shallow strike-slip faulting along segments of the Dead Sea Transform, East Anatolian and Sürgü–Çardak faults.
View the full Wikipedia page for 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquake1668 North Anatolia earthquake in the context of 1939 Erzincan earthquake
An earthquake struck Turkey's eastern Erzincan Province at 1:57:23 a.m. on 27 December 1939 local time with a moment magnitude (Mw ) of 7.8 and maximum Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme). It is tied with the 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes as the most powerful earthquake in Turkey to be recorded by instruments. However, it was less powerful than estimates of the 1668 North Anatolia earthquake. This was one of the largest in a sequence of violent shocks to affect Turkey along the North Anatolian Fault between 1939 and 1999. Surface rupturing, with a horizontal displacement of up to 3.7 meters, occurred in a 360 km long segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The earthquake was the most severe natural loss of life in Turkey in the 20th century, with 32,968 dead, and some 100,000 injured.
View the full Wikipedia page for 1939 Erzincan earthquake