Owens valley california earthquake 1872. On march 26 1872 around 210 am. The 26 march 1872 owens valley earthquake is among the largest historical earthquakes in california. That earthquake which registered at a magnitude 78 or 79 was one of the largest on.
The violence was not all man made in the history of the settling of the owens valley located on the eastern edge of the sierra nevada on iconic hwy 395. Its epicenter was in view of mt. The location of wednesdays earthquake was near where the larger owens valley earthquake occurred in 1872.
The town of lone pine california was hit with an earthquake of magnitude 74. The felt area and maximum fault displacements have long been regarded as comparable to if not greater than those of the great san andreas fault earthquakes of 1857 and 1906 but mapped surface ruptures of the latter two events were 2 3 times longer than that inferred for the 1872 rupture. The owens valley earthquake struck on march 26 and scientists believe its magnitude to be between 74 to 79 making it.
Nature contributed its part most spectacularly on march 26 1872 when what may have been the greatest earthquake experienced by the contiguous united states in historic time shook the area. The quake happened on march 26 1872 at 230 in the morning. Except for a few other mining settlements the owens valley was only sparsely populated at this time.
Owens valley earthquake california march 26 1872. 001630 true or false true false. The owens valley fault runs just east of the alabama hills.
35 the owens valley quake of 1872 is estimated to have had a magnitude of 78 to 8 indicating that big earthquakes can and do happen far away from the coastal zone and the san andreas fault. Its magnitude has been estimated at mw 74 to 79 with a maximum mercalli intensity of x extreme. Local time a massive earthquake on the fault shook the west from san diego to salt lake city.
Fault line fracture can be seen west of lone pine north of whitney portal road langley. The 1872 owens valley earthquake also known as the lone pine earthquake struck on march 26 at 0230 local time in the owens valley california along the east side of the sierra nevada with the epicenter near the town of lone pine.