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This report supersedes USGS Open-File Report 2009–1184

Modified Mercalli Intensity Assignments for the May 16, 1909, Northern Plains Earthquake

By W.H. Bakun, M.C. Stickney, G. Rogers, and J. Ristau

Summary We use newspaper accounts from the United States and Canada to assign modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) at 90 towns for the May 16, 1909 Northern Plains earthquake. Our MMI assignments generally are consistent with those plotted on Nuttli’s (1976) isoseiemal map. The earthquake was felt over more than 1,500,000 km2 in the states of Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming and the provinces of Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan.

Last modified December 12, 2011 First posted October 4, 2010 Report PDF (3.6 MB) Tables folder (476 kB total). This folder contains Tables 1 through 4 in several file formats. This report is available only on the Web. For additional information: Contact Information, Earthquake Hazards Program, Northern California U.S. Geological Survey 345 Middlefield Road, MS 977 Menlo Park, California 94025 http://quake.wr.usgs.gov/ Part of this report is presented in Portable Document Format (PDF); the latest version of Adobe Reader or similar software is required to view it. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader, free of charge.

Suggested citation:

Bakun, W.H., Stickney, M.C., Rogers, G., and Ristau, J., 2010, Modified Mercalli intensity assignments for the May 16, 1909, Northern Plains earthquake: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1185, v. 1.1, 96 p., available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1185/.

Contents

Summary

Introduction

Nuttli’s Assessment of the 1909 Earthquake

Newspaper Accounts of the 1909 Earthquake

MMI Assignments for the 1909 Earthquake

References

three appendixes

four tables