1977 San Juan earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 1977 San Juan earthquake was a major seismic movement
that took place in the province
of San Juan
, Argentina
, on 23 November 1977, at 09:26:23 AM. It measured magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale
. Its epicenter
was at 31°02′23"S 67°45′36"W, and at a depth of 17 km. It was felt with grade IX in the Mercalli intensity scale
.
The earthquake caused fatalities and severe damage to buildings throughout the province, especially in the city of Caucete
, where 65 people died. It also caused slight damage in the north of the Greater Mendoza
metropolitan area.
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
that took place in the province
Provinces of Argentina
Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three provinces and one autonomous city...
of San Juan
San Juan Province (Argentina)
San Juan is a province of Argentina, located in the western part of the country. Neighbouring provinces are, moving clockwise from the north, La Rioja, San Luis and Mendoza. It borders with Chile at the west....
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, on 23 November 1977, at 09:26:23 AM. It measured magnitude 7.4 on the Richter scale
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
. Its epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
was at 31°02′23"S 67°45′36"W, and at a depth of 17 km. It was felt with grade IX in the Mercalli intensity scale
Mercalli intensity scale
The Mercalli intensity scale is a seismic scale used for measuring the intensity of an earthquake. It measures the effects of an earthquake, and is distinct from the moment magnitude M_w usually reported for an earthquake , which is a measure of the energy released...
.
The earthquake caused fatalities and severe damage to buildings throughout the province, especially in the city of Caucete
Caucete
Caucete is a city in the province of San Juan, Argentina, located 25 km southeast of the provincial capital, on the junction of National Routes 20 and 141. It has 33,609 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the Caucete Department....
, where 65 people died. It also caused slight damage in the north of the Greater Mendoza
Greater Mendoza
Gran Mendoza is the name given to the large urban conurbation around the city of Mendoza in Argentina. The 2001 Census estimated the population of Gran Mendoza as 848,660 making it the 4th largest urban conurbation in Argentina....
metropolitan area.