Earthquake 225 km
southeast of Hotan in
Xinjiang, northwest China
Source: Reuters
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Earthquake 225 km |
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Earthquake epicenter shown in |
On 20 March 2008, a 7.2 magnitude quake hit southern Keriya / Yutian County. For the latest news updates, see the end of this page.
Though certainly a tragedy for those affected, there has been no report of any impact from the earthquake on foreign tourists or any tourist sights or infrastructure in Xinjiang. There were no reports of damage along the main Highway 315 which runs along the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in Xinjiang nor any reports of interruption to public bus transportation. The damage has been confined to remote villages in the Kunlun Mountains south of Hotan and Keriya / Yutian.
In the satellite image to the right, see the epicenter ... located at 35.6 degrees north latitude and 81.6 degrees east longitude. The strongest jolt, also the earliest one, occurred at 6:33 am." (Xinhua News Agency). In the satellite image, you can see the Hotan oasis and the Keriya/Yutian oasis, located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert and north of the Kunlun Mountains.
The USGS further refined the location of the 20 March 2008 quake to 35.445°N, 81.392°E. This location is deep in the Kunlun Mountains, which are the border between Xinjiang and Tibet / Xizang. This location, which the USGS notes has an uncertainly of "horizontal +/- 6.6 km (4.1 miles)" places the epicenter very near the Kunlun Goddess / Liushi Shan peak, which is also marked on the map on the right.
The tallest mountain in the Kunlun Mountains proper is the Kunlun Goddess or Liushi Shan, (7167 m, 35° 19' N; 80° 55' E). See a topographic map of the Kunlun Goddess / Liushi Shan. (Two taller peaks, west near the border of Tajikistan, previously included in the Kunlun range -- Muztagh Ata and Mt. Kongur -- are now more properly considered geologically to be part of the neighboring Pamir Mountain range or in their own Kongur sub-range. Another peak, Ulugh Muztagh, to the east is also in a separate mountain range, the Akka Tagh.)
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Map of Keriya / Yutian County, Xinjiang, China. |
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Map of central Keriya / Yutian County, Xinjiang, China |
The Xinhua News Agency further said "The towns of Aqqan and Bostan, with a combined population of 13,400, were affected." China's state-run television channel, CCTV, said that some houses had collapsed, but that no one was hurt," noted an AP article, which includes a few pictures of structural damage.
The Xinhua News Agency further said "The towns of Aqqan and Bostan, with a combined population of 13,400, were affected." China's state-run television channel, CCTV, said that some houses had collapsed, but that no one was hurt.
On 22-Mar, Xinhua reported more information: The quake "affect[ed] 44,000 people, but no casualties reported. ... Four houses in Pulu, the nearest village to the epicenter in the sparsely-inhabited Kunlun Mountain region, collapsed during the first tremor, but the residents escaped. ... Meanwhile, about 2,200 houses were damaged or flattened in counties of Yutian, Qira and Lop in southern Xinjiang's Hotan Prefecture during the quakes, which also toppled hundreds of livestock sheds and vegetable greenhouses, a spokesman with the regional Department of Civil Affairs said. Direct economic losses were estimated at about 10 million yuan (1.4 million U.S. dollars)." (This early estimate was increased within the week. See Damage Update below.)
You can see the location of the town of Aqqan (also spelled Atchan, 啊羗 a-qiang), Pulu (普鲁村 pu-lu can - village), and Bostan (博斯坦 bo-si-tan), just west in neighboring Chira / Cele County) on this road map of Keriya / Yutian County.
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Eastward motion of Tibetan Plateau seen in a section of |
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Eastward motion of Tibetan Plateau seen in a section of |
At its Tectonic Summary of the quake , the Unites States Geological Survey (USGS) noted: "The earthquake occurred as a result of normal faulting in the tectonically complex region of the northern Tibetan Plateau [which] is spreading to the east ...
The eastward motion of Tibet, with respect to Eurasia further north, is accommodated in part by the large intra-continental Altyn Tagh and Kunlun strike-slip fault systems. The March 20, 2008 event is one of the largest known historical earthquakes to have occurred in the northern Tibetan Plateau west of the Kunlun Fault System. In 1996, a 6.9Mw earthquake occurred approximately 300 km further west." (The Kunlun fault system is further south than the Altyn Tagh fault system.)
In The Altyn Tagh Fault, edited by David L. Alles, Western Washington University, Alles writes, "The total length of the [Altyn Tagh] fault is more than 1500 km long (up to 2500 km) and runs the length of the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau from the Pamir mountain range on the west [along the Kunlun mountain range and the Altyn Tagh mountain range] to the Qilian mountain range on the east."
Alles' paper focuses on the central and eastern sections of the Altyn Tagh fault, east of this quake.
An update from the Xinhua News Agency, on 27 March 2008, notes,: "Strong quakes result in 300 million yuan loss in China's Xinjiang region."
"A series of earthquakes that rocked northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last week cost direct economic losses of almost 300 million yuan (42 million U.S. dollars), local authorities said on Thursday."
"The quakes affected 97,603 people in the counties of Yutian, Qira and Lop in southern Xinjiang's Hotan Prefecture, said an official with the regional Department of Civil Affairs. More than 30,000 houses were damaged, 2,363 were flattened and 25,000 needed to be rebuild, the official said."
"The quakes also toppled 1,251 greenhouses and farming establishments, destroyed 2,311 meters of road and 11,840 meters of water pipelines. Meanwhile, clinics, bridges, penstocks and power supply stations were also damaged, the official said."
"More than 10 million yuan had been allocated by the regional government since the first quake and 86,000 people had joined the rescue operation. The stricken area had received more than 2,000 tents, 50 tons of coal and about 200 tons of food. Quilts, coats and shoes had also arrived. "
See our tourism site for Keriya / Yutian, including sightseeing, numerous photos, transportation details, and lodging and dining options.
We very much hope you have enjoyed this page on the 20 March 2008 Earthquake. We appreciate any feedback you may have regarding any aspect of it.