February 20, 1490 Earthquake: Samarkand, Uzbekistan
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Samarkand, Uzbekistan on February 20, 1490, 15 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- February 20, 1490
- Place
- Samarkand, Uzbekistan
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.400° N, 67.100° E
- Country
- Uzbekistan
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1490The 1400sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 644.