1717 Guatemala earthquake

1717 earthquake centered in southwestern colonial Guatemala 1717 Guatemala earthquake Central America yes September 29, 1717 ~7.4 w y 14.57 -90.73 inline, title Guatemala IX The 1717 Guatemala earthquake struck colonial Guatemala on September 29 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.4, and a Mercalli intensity of approximately IX (Violent). The earthquake essentially destroyed much of the architecture of Antigua Guatemala, which was the colonial capital of Central America at the time. Over 3,000 buildings were ruined including many temples and churches. Such was the effect of the disaster that the authorities considered moving the headquarters to a settlement which was less prone to natural disasters.Natural Hazards in El Salvador https://books.google.com/books?id=xZp0mS_QWHMC&pg=PA394 Seismic history of the Middle America subduction zone along El Salvador, Guatemala, and Chiapas, Mexico: 1526–2000 R. A. White J. P. Ligorria I. L. Cifuentes 2004 Geological Society of America 978-0-8137-2375-4 394 Later earthquakes meant that after the 1773 earthquake the town had been moved three times. In 1776, after the Santa Marta earthquakes, the Spanish Crown finally ordered the capital to be moved to a safer location, in es Valle de la Ermita (Valley of the Shrine), where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands. See also List of earthquakes in Guatemala List of historical earthquakes References Category:Earthquakes in Guatemala Category:1710s earthquakes Category:1717 disasters Guatemala Earthquake, 1717 Earthquake 1717 Guatemala Earthquake 1717 Earthquake 1717