July 7, 1590 Earthquake: Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Gansu Province, China on July 7, 1590.
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
- July 7, 1590
- Place
- Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.400° N, 103.900° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
July 7, 1590, Lintao, Gansu Province, 35.4 N, 103.9 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII.
City walls and houses were destructed. Uncountable people and livestock were killed.
Binggoucheng (east of present-day Ledu, Qinghai
Province): The ground shocked violently. City wall collapsed.
The earthquake also occurred at Jingyuan and Lanzhou.
Note: It is supposed that the collapse of Binggoucheng
city walls was caused by another earthquake.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 16, 1920, Gansu Province, Shanxi Province, China
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1654, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- September 2, 1765, Wushan, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
- October 26, 1440, Yongdeng, Gansu Province, China
- December 18, 2023, Jishishan, Gansu Province, China
- February 24, 1819, Qinghai Province, China
- March 19, 734, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 2013, Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China
- January 14, 1885, Gansu Province, China
- September 10, 1837, Gansu Province, China
- January 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1995, Gansu, Yongdeng, Baiyin, Dingxi, Jingtai, China
- October 20, 1990, Tianzhu, Gansu Province, China
- November 13, 2003, Jone, Lintan, Minxian, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1590The 1500sRecent 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 796.