Dover Straits earthquake of 1580
| Date | 6 April 1580 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | 5.3–5.9 ML (estimate) |
| Depth | Approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) (estimate) |
| Areas affected | England, Flanders, northern France |
| Casualties | 2 killed (England) |
Though severe earthquakes in the north of France and Britain are rare, the 1580 Dover Straits earthquake appears to have been one of the largest in the recorded history of England, Flanders or northern France. It occurred at around 20:00 British time.
A study undertaken during the design of the Channel Tunnel estimated the magnitude of the 1580 quake at 5.3–5.9ML and its focal depth at 20–30 km, in the lower crust. Being relatively deep, the quake was felt over a large area and it is not certain where the epicentre was located. The Channel Tunnel study proposed three possible locations, two south of Calais and one offshore. The barycentre of the isoseismals with intensities IV to VII lies in the Boulonnais, 10 km east of Desvres, the barycentre of the VII isoseismal lies about 1 km northeast of Ardres, and the barycentre of the only pleistoseismal zone lies in the English Channel.
The British Geological Survey estimates the magnitude to be 5.7–5.8 ML.
The earthquake is well recorded in contemporary documents, including the "earthquake letter" from Gabriel Harvey to Edmund Spenser mocking popular and academic methods of accounting for the tremors. It fell during Easter week, an omen-filled connection that was not lost on the servant-poet James Yates, who wrote ten stanzas on the topic:
Yates' poem was printed in 1582 in The Castell of Courtesy.
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