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Seismology. Main earthquakes recorded

Seismology. Main earthquakes recorded Catalonia. 2018
Date Time of origin Northern latitude (1) Southern latitude (1) Depth of focus (km) Magnitude (Richter Scale) County
January
12 10:28 42.972 N 0.285 E 4 1.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
26 20:41 42.349 N 1.346 E 3 1.7 Alt Urgell
February
14 08:26 42.331 N 0.631 E 1 3.8 Huesca
14 08:53 42.339 N 0.631 E 1 2.5 Huesca
14 09:29 42.334 N 0.632 E 2 2.9 Huesca
16 18:15 41.492 N 0.675 E 4 2.1 Segrià
March
9 07:52 40.707 N 0.142 W 0 1.8 Castelló
10 08:56 41.848 N 3.801 E 19 2.4 Mar Mediterrània - Lleó
April
3 23:47 42.985 N 0.232 W 0 1.8 Hautes-Pyrénées
10 01:40 40.721 N 0.917 E 11 1.9 Costa Baix Ebre
13 00:08 40.172 N 0.057 W 5 1.9 Castelló
13 15:06 42.413 N 2.307 E 4 2.0 Ripollès
14 14:47 41.774 N 2.801 E 4 1.9 Selva
18 08:31 42.610 N 0.903 E 0 2.1 Val d'Aran
25 00:35 42.992 N 0.163 E 0 1.8 Hautes-Pyrénées
25 04:50 43.011 N 0.135 E 1 2.0 Hautes-Pyrénées
29 21:51 42.518 N 1.064 E 5 2.8 Pallars Sobirà
May
6 07:18 42.528 N 0.453 E 0 2.4 Huesca
10 22:19 42.551 N 0.443 E 0 2.2 Huesca
22 08:23 41.774 N 2.740 E 4 2.0 Selva
22 17:25 41.143 N 2.449 E 4 1.9 Mar Mediterrània - Balears
27 12:47 43.017 N 0.223 W 0 2.1 Hautes-Pyrénées
28 05:07 40.717 N 0.924 E 14 2.1 Costa Montsià
June
30 03:42 43.004 N 0.010 W 0 2.2 Hautes-Pyrénées
July
4 21:29 40.610 N 3.741 E 35 2.1 Mar Mediterrània - Menorca
7 06:48 42.164 N 1.433 E 0 2.4 Alt Urgell
16 15:58 43.035 N 0.213 W 4 2.1 Hautes-Pyrénées
16 16:24 43.026 N 0.216 W 0 2.2 Hautes-Pyrénées
August
6 02:26 41.844 N 2.770 E 4 2.0 Selva
6 20:49 42.959 N 0.332 E 4 3.5 Hautes-Pyrénées
6 20:49 42.935 N 0.325 E 5 2.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
8 07:35 42.575 N 0.888 E 2 1.7 Alta Ribagorça
15 15:46 42.338 N 1.410 E 1 2.0 Alt Urgell
18 17:47 42.610 N 2.498 E 5 2.4 Pyrénées-Orientales
September
10 08:14 41.976 N 2.567 E 0 1.7 Selva
13 08:46 41.726 N 2.628 E 1 1.8 Selva
21 09:48 42.998 N 0.215 W 2 2.8 Hautes-Pyrénées
26 02:08 41.795 N 3.055 E 0 1.8 Baix Empordà
29 22:25 42.774 N 2.529 E 1 2.4 Pyrénées-Orientales
October
25 17:40 42.266 N 2.250 E 0 1.7 Ripollès
27 22:43 42.779 N 0.261 W 0 2.2 Huesca
November
5 04:16 43.004 N 0.140 E 4 1.9 Hautes-Pyrénées
12 03:35 40.560 N 0.155 E 7 2.2 Castelló
21 21:26 43.019 N 0.232 W 1 2.8 Hautes-Pyrénées
21 21:28 43.036 N 0.243 W 0 2.9 Hautes-Pyrénées
22 00:51 42.584 N 0.872 E 9 1.9 Alta Ribagorça
28 13:06 42.415 N 2.298 E 11 2.0 Ripollès
29 09:09 42.982 N 0.115 W 0 2.1 Hautes-Pyrénées
December
5 11:12 42.418 N 2.303 E 4 2.2 Ripollès
11 12:30 42.826 N 2.392 E 9 1.7 Pyrénées-Orientales
22 09:40 42.338 N 1.164 E 5 2.2 Pallars Sobirà
24 06:29 43.002 N 0.031 W 9 2.5 Hautes-Pyrénées
29 10:58 42.259 N 1.785 E 5 1.9 Berguedà
31 12:18 42.903 N 0.374 E 0 1.7 Hautes-Pyrénées
Source: Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya.
Note: (1) in degrees.

Last update: February 5, 2019.

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.