1872 Owens Valley earthquake

Major earthquake in California Lone Pine fault scarp-1200px.jpg Lone Pine fault scarp 1872 Owens Valley earthquake yes 1872-03-26 10:30 March 26, 1872 02:30 ushis161 USA California California 32.72 -117.16 100 San Diego left Green pog.svg California 38.56 -121.47 100 Sacramento right Green pog.svg California 36.61 -118.06 100 Lone Pine right Green pog.svg California 36.7 -118.1 Bullseye1.png 40 yes 290 right 7.4 w y 36.7 -118.1 inline,title Oblique-slip Eastern California United States $250,000 / limited 10 27 killed 56 injured yes California 507 Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims The 1872 Owens Valley earthquake – also known as the Lone Pine earthquake – struck on March 26 at 2:30 a.m. local time (10:30 UTC) in the Owens Valley (California, along the east side of the Sierra Nevada), with the epicenter near the town of Lone Pine. Its magnitude has been estimated at w y 7.4 to 7.9, with a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (Extreme). It was one of the most powerful earthquakes to hit California in recorded history and was similar in strength to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Twenty-seven people were killed and fifty-six were injured. Tectonic setting Basin and Range Province The earthquake resulted from sudden vertical movement of 15 to 20 ft and right-lateral movement of 35 to 40 ft on the Lone Pine Fault and part of the Owens Valley Fault. These faults are part of a twin system of normal faults that run along the base of two parallel mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west and the Inyo Mountains on the east of the Owens Valley, and formed fault scarps from north of Big Pine, 55 mi north of Lone Pine, to Haiwee Reservoir (30 mi) south of Lone Pine. Earthquake thumb|left|Scarp boulder that has been studied The earthquake occurred on a Tuesday morning and leveled almost all the buildings in Lone Pine and nearby settlements.State's Biggest Quake Struck 100 Years Ago Mar 26, 1972 Los Angeles Times Of the estimated 250–300 inhabitants of Lone Pine, 27 are known to have perished and 52 of the 59 houses were destroyed. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 130 km mi us south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000 (US 250000 1872 eq). As in many earthquakes, adobe, stone and masonry structures fared worse than wooden ones, prompting the closing of nearby Camp Independence, an adobe structure destroyed in the quake. The quake was felt strongly as far away as Sacramento, where citizens were startled out of bed and into the streets. Extensive rockslides in what is now Yosemite National Park woke naturalist John Muir, then living in Yosemite Valley, who reportedly ran out of his cabin shouting, "A noble earthquake!"Oakeshott G.B. Greensfelder R.W. Kahle J.E. March 1972 One hundred years later https://www.conservation.ca.gov/cgs/publications/cg-magazine California Geology 25 3 55 California Department of Conservation and promptly made a moonlit survey of the fresh talus piles. This earthquake stopped clocks and awakened people in San Diego to the south, Red Bluff, to the north, and Elko, Nevada, to the east. The shock was felt over most of California and much of Nevada. Thousands of aftershocks occurred, some severe. April 2023 Aftermath thumb|Original plaque and memorial for the 1872 earthquake thumb|More recent memorial of the earthquake, installed March 26, 1988 Researchers later estimated that similar earthquakes occur on the Lone Pine fault every 3,000–4,000 years. However, the Lone Pine fault is only one of many faults on two parallel systems. This earthquake also formed a small graben that later was filled by water, forming 86 acre m2 on Diaz Lake.Introduction to the Geology of Southern California and Its Native Plants Hall C. A. Jr. 2007 University of California Press 978-0-520-24932-5 231 The common grave of the earthquake's victims is now registered as California Historical Landmark #507.507 Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims 2012-10-07 California Historical Landmark Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims is a California Historical Landmark number 507, assigned on July 31, 1953. The California Historical Landmark reads: NO. 507 GRAVE OF 1872 EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS- On March 26, 1872, a major earthquake shook Owens Valley, nearly destroying the town of Lone Pine. About fourteen of its victims (the exact number is not known) were interred in a common grave, enclosed by this fence.https://www.californiahistoricallandmarks.com/landmarks/chl-507 No. 507 Earthquake Victims Grave 2021-10-10 californiahistoricallandmarks.com See also Inyo County, California List of earthquakes in California List of earthquakes in the United States List of historical earthquakes References Revisiting the 1872 Owens Valley, California, Earthquake http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/98/2/931.abstract S. E. Hough Susan Hough K. Hutton Kate Hutton 2008 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 98 2 931, 932 10.1785/0120070186 2008BuSSA..98..931H Significant Earthquake Information https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/2195 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 73, 105 Bibliography Refining the Southern Extent of the 1872 Owens Valley Earthquake Rupture through Paleoseismic Investigations in the Haiwee Area, Southeastern California http://bssa.geoscienceworld.org/content/103/2A/1022.abstract C. B. Amos A. T. Lutz A. S. Jayko S. A. Mahan G. Burch Fisher J. R. Unruh 2013 Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 103 2A 1022–1037 10.1785/0120120024 2013BuSSA.103.1022A subscription Geology Underfoot in Death Valley and Owens Valley Sharp R. P. Robert P. Sharp Glazner A. F. Mountain Press Publishing Company 1997 First 978-0-87842-362-0 1872 Lone Pine Lone Pine earthquake Category:Owens Valley Category:History of Inyo County, California Category:History of the Mojave Desert region Category:History of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Lone Pine earthquake Lone Pine earthquake Category:March 1872 in the United States