The 16 May 1909 northern Great Plains earthquake

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
By: , and 

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Abstract

The largest historical earthquake in the northern Great Plains occurred on 16 May 1909. Our analysis of intensity assignments places the earthquake location (48.81° N, 105.38° W) close to the Montana–Saskatchewan border with an intensity magnitude MI of 5.3–5.4. Observations from two seismic observatories in Europe give an average Ms value of 5.3. The 1909 earthquake is near an alignment of epicenters of small earthquakes in Montana and Saskatchewan and on strike with the mapped Hinsdale fault in Montana. Thus, the 1909 earthquake may have occurred on a 300-km-long seismically active fault, which could have seismic-hazard implications for the region, particularly for the hydraulically emplaced earth-filled Fort Peck Dam, constructed in the 1930s on the Missouri River in northeast Montana.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title The 16 May 1909 northern Great Plains earthquake
Series title Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
DOI 10.1785/0120110054
Volume 101
Issue 6
Year Published 2011
Language English
Publisher Seismological Society of America
Publisher location El Cerrito, CA
Contributing office(s) Earthquake Science Center
Description 7 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America
First page 3065
Last page 3071
Time Range Start 1909-05-16
Time Range End 1909-05-16
Country United States;Canada
Other Geospatial Great Plains
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
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