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China earthquakes in 1951

16 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in China in 1951. The largest: M7.7 89 km WSW of Nagqu, China, Nov 18, 1951.

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

19501952

Map

Where every quake of 1951 was located in China. Select one for its page.

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Every quake of 1951

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

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

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19510
February 19510
March 195126.236 km SSE of Qamdo, China
April 195115.748 km SSE of Qamdo, China
May 19510
June 19510
July 195115.7271 km SE of Hotan, China
August 195115.5183 km WNW of Qamdo, China
September 19510
October 195125.685 km W of Xinyuan, China
November 195147.789 km WSW of Nagqu, China
December 195156.438 km SSW of Lijiang, China

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

China nowWorldwide in 1951

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.