1872 Lone Pine earthquake
Lone Pine fault scarp
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 San Diego
Sacramento
Lone Pine
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| Date | March 26, 1872 |
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| Origin time | 10:30 UTC, 02:30 PST |
| Magnitude | 7.4–7.9 Mw |
| Epicenter | 36°42′N 118°06′W / 36.7°N 118.1°WCoordinates: 36°42′N 118°06′W / 36.7°N 118.1°W |
| Type | Oblique-slip |
| Areas affected |
Eastern California United States |
| Total damage | $250,000 |
| Max. intensity | X (Extreme) |
| Casualties |
27 killed |
| Official name | Grave of 1872 Earthquake Victims |
| Reference no. | 507 |
27 killed
56 injured
The 1872 Lone Pine earthquake struck on March 26 at 10:30 UTC with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.4 to 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli Intensity of X (Extreme). Its epicenter was near Lone Pine, California in Owens Valley. Historical evidence detailing the damage it caused in settlements, fault scarps, and the geographic extent to which noticeable movement was felt led researchers to the high magnitude estimate. It was one of the largest earthquakes to hit California in recorded history and was similar in size to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
The earthquake resulted from sudden vertical movement of 15–20 feet (4.5–6m) and right-lateral movement of 35–40 feet (10.6–12m) on the Lone Pine Fault and part of the Owens Valley Fault. These faults are part of a twin system of normal faults that run along the base of two parallel mountain ranges; the Sierra Nevada on the west and Inyo Mountains on the east flank of Owens Valley. This particular event created fault scarps from north of Big Pine, California, 55 mi (89 km) north of Lone Pine, to Haiwee Reservoir (30 mi (48 km)) south of Lone Pine.
The earthquake occurred on a Tuesday morning and leveled almost all the buildings in Lone Pine and nearby settlements. Of the estimated 250–300 inhabitants of Lone Pine, 27 are known to have perished and 52 of the 59 houses were destroyed. One report states that the main buildings were thrown down in almost every town in Inyo County. About 130 kilometers (81 mi) south of Lone Pine, at Indian Wells, Kern County, California, adobe houses sustained cracks. Property loss has been estimated at $250,000 (1872 dollars), or about $30,000,000 in 2016 dollars. As in many earthquakes, adobe, stone and masonry structures fared worse than wooden ones which prompted the closing of nearby Camp Independence which was an adobe structure destroyed in the quake.
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