April 2, 1879 Earthquake: Bojnurd, Iran
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Bojnurd, Iran on April 2, 1879, 15 km below the surface. It killed 700 people.
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
- April 2, 1879
- Place
- Bojnurd, Iran
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.500° N, 57.400° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 700
- 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.
- October 5, 1948, Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan
- November 17, 1893, Quchan, Mashhad, Bojnurd, Iran
- November 18, 1667, Shirvan, Shamkha, Iran
- August 20, 943, Nisa, Turkmenistan
- January 6, 1872, Quchan, Iran
- May 1, 1929, Kopet-Dagh, Iran
- December 23, 1871, Quchan, Iran
- February 22, 1852, Khabushan (NW Kuchan), Iran
- January 17, 1895, Quchan, Iran
- July 30, 1970, Karnaveh, Marev, Iran
- September 17, 1923, Bodzhnurd, Qaleh Jaq Kmen, Iran
- February 4, 1997, Bojnurd, Shirvan, Esfarayen, Iran
- January 3, 1969, NE Khurasan Province, Iran
- August 21, 1928, Shirvan, Iran
- July 13, 1929, Faruj, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1879The 1800sRecent 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 2270.