1868 Hawaii earthquake

Largest recorded earthquake in Hawaiian history October 2026 October 2026 1868 Hawaiʻi earthquake yes official18680403023000000 1868-04-03 02:30 April 2, 1868 16:00 Hawaii 7.9 fa yes 19.2 -155.5 inline,title Hawaiʻi Limited 10 Yes 77 killed The 1868 Hawaiʻi earthquake was the largest recorded in the history of Hawaii island, with an estimated magnitude of 7.9 fa yes and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The earthquake occurred at 4 p.m. local time on April 2, 1868, and caused a landslide and tsunami that led to 77 deaths. The aftershock sequence for this event has continued up to the present day.10.1029/2007JB005411 Klein F.W. Wright T. 2008 Exponential decline of aftershocks of the M7.9 1868 great Kau earthquake, Hawaii, through the 20th century Journal of Geophysical Research American Geophysical Union 113 B9 B09310.1–B09310.11 2008JGRB..113.9310K Background The island of Hawaii (commonly called the "Big Island") is the currently active volcanic center of the Hawaiian Islands formed over the Hawaii hotspot. Two of the active volcanoes on the Big Island are Kīlauea and Mauna Loa with a newer submarine volcano forming the Kamaʻehuakanaloa Seamount (formerly Lōʻihi) to the southeast of the island. Continued growth of the southeastern part of the island is accompanied by major slumping and southeastward movement of the flanks of the two volcanoes.Bryan C.J. Johnson C.E. 1991 Block tectonics of the island of Hawaii from a focal mechanism analysis of basal slip Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Seismological Society of America 81 2 491–507 http://www.bssaonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/2/491 2009-11-12 2011-09-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20110930202541/http://www.bssaonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/81/2/491 dead This flank displacement is linked to extension within the rift zones associated with both of the active volcanoes, the Mauna Loa and Kīlauea rifts. From the interpretation of seismic reflection data, it has been proposed that the southeastward displacement takes place on a decollement surface near the top of the oceanic crust. The slumping is thought to affect only the upper part of the flank as the amount of shortening observed in the toe thrust zone is much larger than that observed in the extensional faults associated with the slumps, but matches well with estimates of extension within the volcanic rift systems.10.1130/0091-7613(2000)28<667:OASAAK>2.0.CO;2 Morgan J.K. Moore G.F. Hills D.J. Leslie S. amp 2000 Overthrusting and sediment accretion along Kīlauea's mobile south flank, Hawaii: Evidence for volcanic spreading from marine seismic reflection data Geology The Geological Society of America 28 7 667–670 2000Geo....28..667M Selected Mercalli Intensities MMI Locations 10 Hilo, Kīlauea, Nīnole, Pāhala, Punaluʻu VIII Kohala VII Kealakekua, Waipiʻo V Honolulu, Kauaʻi, Lānaʻi U.S. Earthquake Intensity Database, National Geophysical Data Center Hilina Slump Hilina Slump The Hilina Slump is the largest of the active slumps around the Hawaiian islands. The 'backscarp' to the slump is formed by the Hilina extensional fault system, which is known to have moved in both the 1868 event and the 1975 Kalapana earthquake.10.1785/0120000072 Cannon E.C. Bürgmann R. Owen S.E. amp 2001 Shallow Normal Faulting and Block Rotation Associated with the 1975 Kalapana Earthquake, Kilauea Volcano, Hawaii Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Seismological Society of America 91 6 1553–1562 http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/cgi/content/abstract/91/6/1553 2009-11-12 2001BuSSA..91.1553C subscription Earthquake A firsthand description of the events was written by Frederick S. Lyman, a goat and sheep rancher at Keaīwa near the epicenter of the events. Recent Eruption of Mauna Loa and Kilauea, Hawaii American Journal of Science and Arts American Journal of Science 96 July 1868 105–123 https://books.google.com/books?id=U_YQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA111 December 11, 2010 136 1868AmJS...46..105D Dana J. D Coan T 10.2475/ajs.s2-46.136.105 130168932 A sequence of foreshocks began on March 27, with tremors every few minutes. They increased steadily in intensity, including one on March 28 that had an estimated magnitude of 7.1. The sequence continued until 4 p.m. on April 2, when the mainshock occurred. One interpretation of this sequence of events is that they were related to the movement of two separate landslide structures on the south side of the island. The first, triggered by an eruption that began in the upper part of Mauna Loa's southwest rift, involved movement of a block that extended seawards for at least 12 mi km. The tremors over the next four days are regarded as aftershocks of the 7.1 event caused by this movement. The mainshock involved movement of the entire southern flank of Kīlauea on the basal detachment at an estimated depth of 9 km us,Max Wyss 1988 A proposed source model for the great Kau, Hawaii, earthquake of 1868 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America Seismological Society of America 78 4 1450–1462 10.1785/BSSA0780041450 1988BuSSA..78.1450W http://www.bssaonline.org/cgi/reprint/78/4/1450 2009-11-12 2008-09-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20080905080420/http://www.bssaonline.org/cgi/reprint/78/4/1450 dead subscription and was probably triggered by the earlier event. The aftershock sequence has continued for over 140 years until the present day. The aftershock frequency fits a modified Omori (power law) for the first few decades and an exponential function thereafter. Damage thumb|Destruction to Waiōhinu Church, photograph by Henry L. Chase, 1868 Wooden houses were knocked off their foundations in Keaīwa, Punaluu Beach and Nīnole, while thatched houses supported by posts in the same areas were torn to shreds.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1868_04_03.php Ka'u District, Island of Hawaii 1868 04 03 02:25 UTC (04/02/1868 local) Magnitude 7.9, Largest Earthquake in Hawaii United States Geological Survey 2009-11-11 https://web.archive.org/web/20161110065202/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/states/events/1868_04_03.php 2016-11-10 dead The earthquake demolished nearly every stone wall and house within the Kaū district in an instant.https://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/1994/94_04_01.html The Great Ka'u Earthquake of 1868 Hawaiian Volcano Observatory April 1, 1994 December 11, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20160629175821/http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/volcanowatch/archive/1994/94_04_01.html June 29, 2016 At Waiōhinu, a large stone church built by Reverend John D. Paris collapsed, and in Hilo the shaking destroyed the few stone buildings and most walls. Tsunami A tsunami was caused by coastal subsidence associated with reactivation of the Hilina Slump, triggered by the earthquake. At Kapapala the land subsided by as much as 2 m and formerly dry land was flooded to a depth of 1.5 m. The tsunami on the Kaū and Puna coasts caused major destruction at Honu‘apo, Keauhou and Punaluu. The greatest damage was caused at Keauhou, where a wave height of 12–15 m was reported. All houses and warehouses were destroyed and 46 people were drowned. Many villages, such as Āpua, were never resettled.Apua pp December 11, 2010 Landslides The earthquake triggered landslides over a wide area. The largest was a mudslide 3 km wide and 9 m thick, that swept down the flanks of Mauna Loa at Kapapala. It swept away trees, animals and people, causing 31 fatalities. Effect on volcanic eruptions thumb|Lava bed after eruption, photograph by Henry L. Chase, 1868 Kīlauea was the most affected by the lateral displacement associated with the earthquake, as it did not have another major eruption until 1919. It also disrupted the magma system beneath Mauna Loa, as is shown both in reduced lava volumes and an abrupt change in the lava chemistry.10.1126/science.235.4785.196 Tilling R.I. Rhodes J.M. Sparks J.W. Lockwood J.P. Lipman P.W. amp 1987 Disruption of the Mauna Loa Magma System by the 1868 Hawaiian Earthquake: Geochemical Evidence Science American Association for the Advancement of Science 235 4785 196–199 http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/235/4785/196 2009-11-11 17778633 1987Sci...235..196T 37524089 subscription See also List of earthquakes in Hawaii List of earthquakes in the United States List of historical earthquakes List of tsunamis References 30em Significant Earthquake Information https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/21251 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS) NCEI/WDS Global Significant Earthquake Database National Geophysical Data Center, NOAA 10.7289/V5TD9V7K 1972 Data Set Stover C. W. Coffman J. L. Seismicity of the United States, 1568–1989 (Revised) U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1527 https://books.google.com/books?id=bY0KAQAAIAAJ 1993 United States Government Printing Office 207 Hawaii Earthquake, 1868 1868 Category:Geography of Hawaii (island) Category:19th-century tsunamis Category:1868 natural disasters Earthquake Category:April 1868 in Oceania Category:Volcano tectonic earthquakes Category:19th-century volcanic events Category:Volcanic tsunamis