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Afghanistan earthquakes in 1939

3 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in Afghanistan in 1939. The largest: M5.6 12 km SSE of Qarch? Gak, Afghanistan, Sep 6, 1939.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19381940

Map

Where every quake of 1939 was located in Afghanistan. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1939

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19390
February 19390
March 19390
April 19390
May 19390
June 193915.434 km NNW of Ashk?sham, Afghanistan
July 19390
August 19390
September 193915.612 km SSE of Qarch? Gak, Afghanistan
October 193915.641 km WSW of Kunduz, Afghanistan
November 19390
December 19390

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

Afghanistan nowWorldwide in 1939

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.