1797 Sumatra earthquake
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| Date | February 10, 1797 |
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| Magnitude | 8.4 Mw |
| Epicenter | 1°00′S 99°00′E / 1.0°S 99.0°ECoordinates: 1°00′S 99°00′E / 1.0°S 99.0°E |
| Areas affected | Sumatra, Dutch East India Company |
| Tsunami | Yes |
| Casualties | Numerous |
The 1797 Sumatra earthquake was the first in a series of great earthquakes that ruptured part of the Sumatran segment of the Sunda megathrust. It caused a damaging tsunami that was particularly severe near Padang, where a 150–200 ton English ship was driven 1 km inland up the Arau River.
The island of Sumatra lies on the convergent plate boundary between the Indo-Australian Plate and the Eurasian Plate. The convergence between these plates is highly oblique near Sumatra, with the displacement being accommodated by near pure dip-slip faulting along the subduction zone, known as the Sunda megathrust, and near pure strike-slip faulting along the Great Sumatran fault. The major slip events on the subduction zone interface are typically of the megathrust type.
Historically, great or giant megathrust earthquakes have been recorded in 1797, 1833, 1861, 2004, 2005 and 2007, most of them being associated with devastating tsunamis. Smaller (but still large) megathrust events have also occurred in the small gaps between the areas that slip during these larger events, in 1935, 1984, 2000 and 2002.
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