1787 New Spain earthquake

Earthquake in Kingdom of the Spanish Empire 1787 New Spain earthquake Mexico yes 28 March 1787 11:30 8.6 w y 16.5 -98.5 region:MX_type:event inline,title Megathrust New Spain Severe Yes 11 killed in the tsunami, total unknown The 1787 New Spain earthquake, also known as the San Sixto earthquake, occurred on 28 March at 11:30 local time (17:30 UTC). It caused a large tsunami that affected the coast of the Puebla Intendancy (includes the current state of Guerrero) and the Oaxaca Intendancy (currently Oaxaca) in Southwestern New Spain (currently part of Mexico). With an estimated magnitude of w y 8.6, it is Mexico's most powerful instrumentally recorded earthquake. Tectonic setting Southwestern Mexico lies above the convergent boundary where the Cocos plate is being subducted below the North American plate at a rate of 6.4 cm/yr. The dip of the subducting slab is about 15° as defined by focal mechanisms and earthquake hypocenters. Seismicity in this area is characterised by regular megathrust earthquakes along the plate interface.Singh S.K. M. Ordaz L. Alcantara N. Shapiro V. Kostoglodov J. F. Pacheco S. Alcocer C. Gutierrez R. Quaas T. Mikumo E. Ovando J. Aguirre D. Almora J. G. Anderson M. Ayala C. Javier G. Castro R. Duran G. Espitia J. Estrada E. Guevara J. Lermo B. Lopez O. Lopez M. Macias E. Mena M. Ortega C. Perez J. Perez M. Romo M. Ramirez C. Reyes R. Ruiz H. Sandoval M. Torres E. Vazquez R. Vazquez J. M. Velasco J. Ylizaturri amp The Oaxaca earthquake of 30 September 1999 (MW = 7.5) Seismological Research Letters 71 1 67–78 10.1785/gssrl.71.1.67 http://usuarios.geofisica.unam.mx/vladimir/papers_pdf/Singh_etal_SRL_2000.pdf 30 December 2011 2000 Earthquake The earthquake was reported as lasting between 6 and 7 minutes. It was followed by three strong aftershocks on 29 March, 30 March, and 3 April, all of which were probably of magnitude 7 or more, based on estimates of the reported intensities in the city of Oaxaca. It was felt over a wide area from Valladolid to Tehuantepec along the coast and as far inland as Tulancingo.https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/6033 Significant Earthquake Information National Geophysical Data Center World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information 1972 26 July 2022 10.7289/V5TD9V7K National Geophysical Data Center The magnitude of this earthquake has been estimated from contemporary reports of seismic intensity. Analysis of other subduction interface earthquakes along this margin suggest that the extent of shaking of VIII or greater on the Mercalli intensity scale matches well with the rupture extent for each event. This suggests that the 1787 rupture extended for about 450 km along the coast, providing an estimate of magnitude 8.6, based on scaling against other similar earthquakes.http://www.cires.org.mx/docs_info/CIRES_027.pdf Evidence for Great Tsunamigenic Earthquakes ( M 8.6) along the Mexican Subduction Zone Suárez G. Albini P. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 2009 99 2a 892–896 10.1785/0120080201 2009BuSSA..99..892S 2015-05-31 2016-03-04 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063947/http://www.cires.org.mx/docs_info/CIRES_027.pdf dead Tsunami The tsunami triggered by the earthquake affected the Mexican Pacific coast for more than 500 km along the shores of Oaxaca, Guerrero and Chiapas.The Great 1787 Corralero, Oaxaca, Tsunami Uncovered AGU Spring Meeting Abstracts 41 NH41A–03 May 2013 2013AGUSMNH41A..03R Ramirez-Herrera M Lagos M Goguitchaichrili A Aguilar B Machain-Castillo M. L Caballero M Ruíz-Fernández A. C Suarez G Ortuño M The maximum wave height has been estimated as 18.5 m, based on records of inundation and current elevations.The great 1787 Mexican tsunami Núñez-Cornú F.J. Ortiz M. Sánchez J.J. Natural Hazards 2008 47 3 569–576 10.1007/s11069-008-9239-1 2008NatHa..47..569N 128748891 Damage The earthquake caused damage to buildings in Mexico City and many buildings in Oaxaca City were destroyed. Three churches in Teuchitlan were destroyed. Future earthquake hazard The rupture behaviour of the subduction interface in the area of the 1787 earthquake involves occasional very large earthquakes, such as that in 1787, with smaller (M7) earthquakes rupturing just part of the plate boundary during the intervening period. Similar behaviour has been observed along the Colombia-Ecuador subduction zone, with three M7 earthquakes since the M8.8 1906 Ecuador–Colombia earthquake rupturing just part of the same area that slipped in that great earthquake. See also List of earthquakes in Mexico List of historical earthquakes List of tsunamis References Further reading Ramírez-Herrera M. Corona N. Cerny J. Castillo-Aja R. Diego Melgar Melgar D. Lagos M. Goguitchaichvili A. Machain M. Vazquez-Caamal M. Ortuño M. Caballero M. Solano-Hernandez E. Ruiz-Fernández A. Sand deposits reveal great earthquakes and tsunamis at Mexican Pacific Coast Scientific Reports 10 1 2020 11452 2045-2322 10.1038/s41598-020-68237-2 32651547 7351727 free Category:Megathrust earthquakes in Mexico Category:18th-century tsunamis Category:1780s earthquakes Category:1787 disasters Category:1787 in New Spain Category:Tsunamis in Mexico