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Seismology. Main earthquakes recorded

Seismology. Main earthquakes recorded Catalonia. 2015
Date Time of origin Northern latitude (1) Southern latitude (1) Depth of focus (km) Magnitude (Richter Scale) County
January
2 08:00 40.668 N 0.075 W 8 1.9 Castelló
16 17:58 43.094 N 0.124 W 15 2.2 Hautes-Pyrénées
22 01:06 42.776 N 0.723 E 10 1.8 Val d'Aran
27 12:33 40.704 N 1.063 E 7 2.2 Costa Montsià
27 17:12 42.781 N 2.103 E 4 1.9 Aude
29 14:10 42.691 N 1.112 E 4 1.8 Pallars Sobirà
February
3 01:56 40.864 N 1.513 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 1.8 Mar Mediterrània
March
5 17:42 42.866 N 0.301 W 0 2.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
14 20:02 40.915 N 0.894 E 15 2.3 Costa Baix Ebre
15 13:15 42.621 N 1.199 E 6 1.7 Pallars Sobirà
25 00:37 43.061 N 0.120 E 12 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
27 17:38 42.868 N 0.295 W 1 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
29 12:12 41.082 N 2.436 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.1 Mar Mediterrània
April
8 23:04 40.904 N 0.985 E 4 1.7 Costa Baix Camp
9 11:31 40.899 N 1.004 E 8 3.2 Costa Baix Camp
9 19:55 40.474 N 0.432 E 3 1.8 Castelló
11 14:18 42.618 N 0.707 E 12 1.9 Huesca
14 09:16 43.018 N 0.167 W 5 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
16 21:59 42.865 N 0.303 W 5 1.9 Hautes-Pyrénées
May
10 14:13 43.062 N 0.319 W 0 2.1 Pyrénées-Atlantiques
23 22:22 42.968 N 0.278 E 9 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
June
9 05:23 42.912 N 0.286 E 3 1.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
13 05:06 42.671 N 1.936 E 1 1.9 Ariège
16 07:08 42.946 N 0.152 E 0 2.6 Hautes-Pyrénées
16 11:47 40.905 N 0.992 E 4 1.7 Costa Baix Camp
29 08:44 42.936 N 0.327 W 4 1.7 Pyrénées-Atlantiques
30 06:59 43.252 N 3.064 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.8 Aude
30 07:14 43.181 N 3.126 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 1.7 Aude
July
1 11:35 42.570 N 2.109 E 7 1.9 Pyrénées-Orientales
4 04:57 42.597 N 0.252 E 5 1.9 Huesca
18 11:54 40.648 N 0.215 E 2 1.9 Castelló
20 11:06 42.302 N 2.368 E 4 2.5 Ripollès
26 23:43 41.674 N 2.390 E 2 2.6 Vallès Oriental
August
2 06:41 41.672 N 2.402 E 5 2.7 Vallès Oriental
4 14:02 41.088 N 1.209 E 5 1.9 Costa Tarragonès
7 22:30 42.975 N 0.087 W 0 1.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
10 07:52 43.016 N 0.011 W 5 2.8 Hautes-Pyrénées
September
9 18:38 43.121 N 2.398 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.2 Aude
10 12:09 40.913 N 0.964 E 0 1.9 Costa Baix Camp
28 12:12 42.372 N 3.219 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.9 Costa Alt Empordà
October
3 18:50 42.718 N 1.621 E 5 1.7 Ariège
13 20:11 42.547 N 1.964 E 8 2.0 Pyrénées-Orientales
18 22:24 43.035 N 0.216 W .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.0 Pyrénées-Atlantiques
25 13:24 43.009 N 0.007 W 3 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
26 04:10 40.551 N 0.140 E 8 2.0 Castelló
29 00:37 42.183 N 3.169 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 4.3 Costa Alt Empordà
30 04:15 42.175 N 3.166 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 1.8 Costa Alt Empordà
30 07:17 42.176 N 3.170 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 1.7 Costa Alt Empordà
November
1 00:39 42.177 N 3.158 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 1.9 Costa Alt Empordà
13 19:59 41.556 N 2.189 E 0 2.0 Vallès Occidental
17 16:08 43.012 N 0.022 W .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.2 Hautes-Pyrénées
18 11:10 42.323 N 1.950 E 3 3.0 Cerdanya
18 11:49 42.863 N 0.301 W 0 2.5 Hautes-Pyrénées
18 12:14 42.325 N 1.954 E 2 1.9 Cerdanya
18 12:15 42.320 N 1.950 E 2 1.7 Cerdanya
18 12:25 42.330 N 1.955 E 3 1.8 Cerdanya
18 12:26 42.320 N 1.954 E 1 1.9 Cerdanya
18 12:52 42.326 N 1.958 E 4 2.2 Cerdanya
18 13:20 42.867 N 0.292 W 0 2.5 Hautes-Pyrénées
18 17:51 42.898 N 0.276 W 0 1.9 Hautes-Pyrénées
19 04:50 42.172 N 3.166 E .. Confidential data, low reliability or not available 2.6 Costa Alt Empordà
December
5 07:50 40.939 N 0.251 E 5 1.8 Teruel
28 07:16 40.849 N 1.455 E 15 2.4 Mar Mediterrània
28 13:18 40.512 N 0.597 E 5 1.9 Costa Montsià
Source: Institut Geològic de Catalunya.
Note: (1) in degrees.
(..) Confidential data, low reliability or not available.

Last update: June 7, 2016.

Methodological note

Definition of concepts

Magnitude of an earthquake
Instrumental measure of its force. It is related with the energy transported by seismic waves. It is expressed in decimal figures in accordance with the Richter scale, whose highest value is 9.
Profundity of the focus of the earthquake
Distance from the point where the earthquake originated and the epicentre or point of vertical projection over the surface of the Earth. It is expressed in kilometres.
Earthquake
Set of shockwaves generated from a point within the Earth, called its focus or hypocentre, as result of which there is a sudden release of energy produced by a brusque movement between blocks of the crust and the mantle of the Earth. They are defined by the following: magnitude and depth of the focus.

Methodological aspects

The Western Mediterranean is located in a collusion zone between the European and African tectonic plates.

The Seismology Service was created in 1981 to study in detail the seismic activity in the territory, to monitor it closely, and to determine and characterise the seismic zones.

Since 1984, hypocentral determinations have been conducted in consideration of the Service's own data and that of other bodies: the Midi-Pyrénées Observatory, the Institute of Catalan Studies, the National Geographic Institute, the Ebro Observatory, the Fabra Observatory and the Detection and Geophysical Laboratory. Information on seismic activity in Catalonia and its neighbouring regions is released annually in the Seismic Bulletin published by the Geological Institute of Catalonia.

The criterion was to select all the seismic movements those that had an epicentre within the Catalan territory and were of a magnitude equal to or higher than 1.7 on the Richter scale.

Provisional data.