View source for 1959 Kamchatka earthquake

{{Short description|Earthquake in 1959 located in Kamchatka}}
{{Infobox earthquake
| title              = 1959 Kamchatka earthquake
| timestamp          = 1959-05-04 07:15:47
| isc-event          = 881925
| anss-url           = iscgem881925
| local-date         = {{Start date|1959|05|04}}
| local-time         = 19:15
| map2               = {{Location map+ | Russia Kamchatka Krai
 | places = 
{{Location map~|Russia Kamchatka Krai|lat=53.01|long=158.39|label_size=100|label=Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky|position=left|mark=Green pog.svg}}
{{Location map~|Russia Kamchatka Krai|lat=53.37|long=159.66|mark=Bullseye1.png|marksize=40}}
 | label =
 | lat = 53.37
 | long = 159.66
 | mark = Bullseye1.png
 | marksize = 40
 | position = top
 | width = 250
 | float = right
 | caption =
 | relief = yes}}
| magnitude          = 8.25 {{M|s|link=y}}, 8.0–8.3 {{M|w|link=y}}
| depth              = {{convert|20-60|km|abbr=on}}
| location           = {{coord|53.37|N|159.66|E|type:event}} {{sfn|Engdahl|Vallaseñor|2002}}
| countries affected = USSR
| tsunami            =
| aftershocks        =
| intensity          = {{MSK-64|8}}
| casualties         = 1 killed, 13 injured<ref name=usdoc/>
}}

The '''1959 Kamchatka earthquake''' occurred on May 4 at {{Tooltip|19:15 local time|07:15 UTC}} with a moment magnitude of 8.0–8.3, and a surface wave magnitude of 8.25. The epicenter was near the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]]. Building damage was reported in [[Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky]].<ref name=usdoc/>{{sfn|Putintsev|2005}} The maximum intensity was VIII (''Damaging'') on the [[Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale]].<ref name="eeri"/> The intensity in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky was about VIII MSK.

The earthquake triggered a tsunami with {{convert|0.2|m|sp=us}} of runup that was recorded in [[Massacre Bay (Alaska)|Massacre Bay]], [[Alaska]], in the United States.<ref name="NRCC"/> Subduction is active along about the southern half of the eastern coast of Kamchatka Peninsula, between its junctions with the [[Aleutian Islands]] and the [[Kuril Islands]].{{sfn|Park|Levin|Brandon|Lees|2002}}

==Tectonic setting==
Kamchatka lies near a large convergent boundary—the [[Kuril-Kamchatka Trench]]—which accommodates the subduction of the [[Pacific plate]] under the [[Okhotsk plate]] (a microplate within the [[North American plate]]).{{sfn|Bürgmann|Kogan|Steblov|Hilley|2005}} Subduction occurs at a rate of {{convert|80|mm|abbr=on}}/yr at the trench, increasing from north to south.{{sfn|Bürgmann|Kogan|Steblov|Hilley|2005}} This [[subduction]] zone generates [[Kamchatka earthquakes]] and their associated tsunamis. This subduction zone is associated with many large events throughout history, including earthquakes in [[1737 Kamchatka earthquake|1737]], [[1841 Kamchatka earthquake|1841]], [[February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake|1923]], and [[1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake|1952]]. The 1737 earthquake was likely the strongest event on the peninsula, with magnitudes reaching {{M|w}} 9.3 and tsunami run-ups reportedly exceeding {{convert|60|m|abbr=on}}{{sfn|Gusiakov|2000}} The 1841 event is considered slightly weaker, with maximum magnitude estimates reaching {{M|w}} 9.0–9.2, and the tsunami run-up was {{convert|15|m|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Morelle"/>{{sfn|Bourgeois|Pinegina|2017}} The 1923 earthquake was also quite strong, measuring {{M|w}} 8.5.{{sfn|Bürgmann|Kogan|Steblov|Hilley|2005}} The 1952 event was the most recent of the great earthquakes ({{M|w}} 8.5+) along the Kuril-Kamchatka trench, and measured {{M|w}} 9.0.{{Sfn|MacInnes|Weiss|Bourgeois|Pinegina|2010}} The resulting tsunami from this earthquake generated runups up to {{convert|18|meters|abbr=on}} high.{{Sfn|MacInnes|Weiss|Bourgeois|Pinegina|2010}}

==Earthquake==
The earthquake struck at 7:15 [[UTC]], or 19:15 [[Kamchatka Time|local time]] on May 4, 1959. The earthquake occurred at a depth of {{convert|20-60|km|abbr=on}},{{sfn|Purcaru|Berckhemer|1982}}{{sfn|Engdahl|Vallaseñor|2002}}{{sfn|McCaffrey|1993}}{{sfn|Abe|1981}} with a magnitude of 8.0–8.3.{{sfn|Engdahl|Vallaseñor|2002}}{{sfn|Kanamori|1977}}{{sfn|Kelleher|Sykes|Oliver|1973}} This event nucleated near where the [[1952 Severo-Kurilsk earthquake|1952 earthquake]] ruptured with the most slip, and just south of the [[February 1923 Kamchatka earthquake|1923 earthquake]].{{sfn|Bürgmann|Kogan|Steblov|Hilley|2005}} The shock ruptured an area {{convert|160|km|abbr=on}} wide, and {{convert|110|km|abbr=on}} long.{{sfn|Lay|Kanamori|Ruff|1982}} The maximum intensity on the [[Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale]] (MSK) was VIII (''Damaging''), and maximum felt intensities in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky were also MSK VIII.<ref name="eeri"/>

==Tsunami==
The tsunami was small, which was expected for the size of the earthquake. Run-ups of {{convert|1.5-2|m|abbr=on}} were recorded, and at the Honolulu tide gauge, readings of {{convert|0.1|m|abbr=on}} above the tide were also recorded.{{sfn|Bourgeois|Pinegina|2017}} Readings of {{convert|0.2|m|abbr=on}} run-ups in Hawaii were reported as well.{{sfn|Walker|2005}} In [[Massacre Bay (Alaska)|Massacre Bay]], [[Alaska]], run-ups of up to {{convert|0.2|m|abbr=on}} were recorded.<ref name="NRCC"/>

==See also==
*[[List of earthquakes in 1959]]
*[[List of earthquakes in Russia]]

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="eeri">{{citation|title=World Housing Encyclopedia Report|url=http://www.eeri.org/lfe/pdf/russian_federation_small_concrete_block.pdf|year=2002|first1=M.|last1=Klyachko|first2=Y.|last2=Gordeev|first3=F.|last3=Kolosova|publisher=[[Earthquake Engineering Research Institute]]|page=12}}</ref><ref name=usdoc>{{citation|title=Information on Soviet Bloc International Geophysical Cooperation – 1959|url=http://nsidc.org/rocs/archives-catalog/index.php?p=digitallibrary/getfile&id=254|year=1959|author=Office of Technical Services|publisher=[[United States Department of Commerce]]|page=5|access-date=2019-02-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120928192620/http://nsidc.org/rocs/archives-catalog/index.php?p=digitallibrary%2Fgetfile&id=254|archive-date=2012-09-28|url-status=dead|url-access=<!--WP:URLACCESS-->}}</ref><ref name="Morelle">{{cite news |author1=Rebecca Morelle |author-link=Rebecca Morelle |title=Enormous earthquakes 'are missing' from records |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-25329813 |access-date=23 October 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=12 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="NRCC">The great Alaska earthquake of 1964, Vol. 5 by National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on the Alaska Earthquake</ref>
}}

'''Sources'''
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |title=International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology |series=Part A, Volume 81A |chapter=Global seismicity: 1900–1999 |first1=E. R. |last1=Engdahl |first2=A. |last2=Vallaseñor |year=2002 |url=https://earthquake.usgs.gov/data/centennial/centennial.pdf |publisher=[[Academic Press]] |edition=First |isbn=978-0124406520 |page=680 }}
* {{citation|title=Plate Boundary Zones|chapter=A dangling slab, amplified arc volcanism, mantle flow and seismic anisotropy in the Kamchatka plate corner|chapter-url=http://www.unc.edu/~leesj/FETCH/GRAB/SEKS_Papers/pbz_cam.pdf|first1=J.|last1=Park|first2=V.|last2=Levin|first3=M.|last3=Brandon|first4=J.|last4=Lees|first5=V.|last5=Peyton|first6=E.|last6=Gordeev|first7=A.|last7=Ozerov|year=2002|publisher=[[American Geophysical Union]]|edition=First|isbn=978-0875905327|page=3}}
* {{citation|title=Harbingers of landslide in Ryabikovskaya Street, 81 (Petropavlovsk–Kamchatski)|url=http://www.kscnet.ru/kraesc/2005/2005_6/ann17.html|first=Y. O.|last=Putintsev|year=2005|journal=Bulletin of Kamchatka Resional Association|volume=6|number=2|page=133}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kanamori |first1=Hiroo |title=The energy release in great earthquakes |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=10 July 1977 |volume=82 |issue=20 |pages=2981–2987 |doi=10.1029/JB082i020p02981 |bibcode=1977JGR....82.2981K |url=https://doi.org/10.1029/JB082i020p02981 |access-date=24 September 2022 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bürgmann |first1=Roland |last2=Kogan |first2=Mikhail G. |last3=Steblov |first3=Grigory M. |last4=Hilley |first4=George |last5=Levin |first5=Vasily E. |last6=Apel |first6=Edwin |title=Interseismic coupling and asperity distribution along the Kamchatka subduction zone |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=19 July 2005 |volume=110 |issue=B7 |doi=10.1029/2005JB003648 |bibcode=2005JGRB..110.7405B |s2cid=129123498 |doi-access=free }}
* {{citation |first1=V.K. |last1=Gusiakov |title=Two great kamchatka tsunamis, 1737 and 1952 |date=2000 |url=http://bosques.ciren.cl/bitstream/handle/123456789/28986/Two%20great%20Kamchatka%20Tsunamis%2C%201737%20and%201952.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |access-date=25 September 2022 |publisher=IUGG Tsunami Commission |location=Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics, Siberian Division, Russian Academy of Sciences |archive-date=9 July 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709190438/http://bosques.ciren.cl/bitstream/handle/123456789/28986/Two%20great%20Kamchatka%20Tsunamis%2C%201737%20and%201952.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Bourgeois |first1=Joanne |last2=Pinegina |first2=Tatiana K. |title=The 1997 Kronotsky earthquake and tsunami and their predecessors, Kamchatka, Russia |journal=Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences |date=2017 |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=335–350 |doi=10.5194/nhess-18-335-2018 |bibcode=2018NHESS..18..335B |url=https://nhess.copernicus.org/preprints/nhess-2017-172/nhess-2017-172-RC2-supplement.pdf |doi-access=free }}
* {{citation|title=Slip Distribution of the 1952 Kamchatka Great Earthquake Based on Near-Field Tsunami Deposits and Historical Records|url=http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/bibl/sotrudn/stpineg/slip_distribution.pdf|first1=B. T.|last1=MacInnes|first2=R.|last2=Weiss|first3=J.|last3=Bourgeois|first4=T. K.|last4=Pinegina|date=2010|journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America|volume=100|number=4|pages=1695–1709|bibcode=2010BuSSA.100.1695M|doi=10.1785/0120090376}}
* {{cite journal |last1=Walker |first1=Daniel A. |title=Ocean-Wide Tsunamis, Magnitude Thresholds, And 1946 Type Events |journal=Science of Tsunami Hazards |date=January 2005 |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=3–6 |citeseerx=10.1.1.537.5859 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=McCaffrey |first1=Robert |title=On the role of the upper plate in great subduction zone earthquakes |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |date=10 July 1993 |volume=98 |issue=B7 |pages=11953–11966 |doi=10.1029/93JB00445 |bibcode=1993JGR....9811953M |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/93JB00445 |access-date=9 October 2022 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Purcaru |first1=G. |last2=Berckhemer |first2=H. |title=Quantitative relations of seismic source parameters and a classification of earthquakes |journal=Tectonophysics |date=10 April 1982 |volume=84 |issue=1 |pages=57–128 |doi=10.1016/0040-1951(82)90154-8 |bibcode=1982Tectp..84...57P |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0040195182901548 |access-date=9 October 2022 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Lay |first1=Thorne |last2=Kanamori |first2=Hiroo |last3=Ruff |first3=Larry J. |title=The Asperity Model and the Nature of Large Subduction Zone Earthquakes |journal=Earthquake Prediction Research |date=1982 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=3–71 |url=https://authors.library.caltech.edu/53963/ |access-date=9 October 2022 |issn=0286-0619 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Abe |first1=Katsuyuki |title=Magnitudes of large shallow earthquakes from 1904 to 1980 |journal=Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors |date=October 1981 |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=72–92 |doi=10.1016/0031-9201(81)90088-1 |bibcode=1981PEPI...27...72A |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0031920181900881 |access-date=9 October 2022 }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Kelleher |first1=John |last2=Sykes |first2=Lynn |last3=Oliver |first3=Jack |title=Possible criteria for predicting earthquake locations and their application to major plate boundaries of the Pacific and the Caribbean |journal=Journal of Geophysical Research |date=10 May 1973 |volume=78 |issue=14 |pages=2547–2585 |doi=10.1029/JB078i014p02547 |bibcode=1973JGR....78.2547K |url=https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/JB078i014p02547 |access-date=9 October 2022 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
*{{EQ-isc-link|881925}}

{{Earthquakes in 1959}}
{{Earthquakes in Russia}}

[[Category:1959 earthquakes|Kamchatka earthquake, 1959]]
[[Category:May 1959 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Megathrust earthquakes in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:1959 in the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Earthquakes in the Russian Far East]]
[[Category:1950s tsunamis|Kamchatka]]
[[Category:History of the Kamchatka Peninsula]]