This seismogram is from the Nilore seismic station in Pakistan. The noise was caused by a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that hit the Paropamisus Range in western Afghanistan at 5:11 AM, local time, on 11 October 2023. The epicenter was about 28 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Herat, Afghanistan. The hypocenter was about 9 kilometers deep. Shaking resulted from reverse or thrust faulting along an east-west striking fault zone. Two magnitude 6.3 earthquakes occurred in the same area four days earlier.
The Paropamisus Range of Afghanistan formed in the Mesozoic by tectonic collision during the Cimmeride Orogeny (Cimmerian Orogeny). Ongoing seismicity in the area is broadly due to collisional tectonics between the Arabian and Eurasian Plates and the Indian and Eurasian Plates.
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Info. at:
earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us6000len8/exec...
[An event-specific summary is at the bottom of that web page.]
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimmerian_Orogeny
and
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cimmeria_(continent)
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An earthquake is a natural shaking or vibrating of the Earth caused by sudden fault movement and a rapid release of energy. Earthquake activity is called "seismicity". The study of earthquakes is called "seismology". The actual underground location of an earthquake is the hypocenter, or focus. The site at the Earth's surface, directly above the hypocenter, is the epicenter. Minor earthquakes may occur before a major event - such small quakes are called foreshocks. Minor to major quakes after a major event are aftershocks.
Most earthquakes occur at or near tectonic plate boundaries, such as subduction zones, mid-ocean ridges, collision zones, and transform plate boundaries. They also occur at hotspots - large subsurface mantle plumes (Examples: Hawaii, Yellowstone, Iceland, Afar).
Earthquakes generate four types of shock waves: P-waves, S-waves, Love waves, and Rayleigh waves. P-waves and S-waves are body waves - they travel through solid rocks. Love waves and Rayleigh waves travel only at the surface - they are surface waves. P-waves are push-pull waves that travel quickly and cause little damage. S-waves are up-and-down waves (like flicking a rope) that travel slowly and cause significant damage. Love waves are side-to-side surface waves, like a slithering snake. Rayleigh waves are rotational surface waves, somewhat like ripples from tossing a pebble into a pond.
Earthquakes are associated with many specific hazards, such as ground shaking, ground rupturing, subsidence (sinking), uplift (rising), tsunamis, landslides, fires, and liquefaction.
Some famous major earthquakes in history include: Shensi, China in 1556; Lisbon, Portugal in 1755; New Madrid, Missouri in 1811-1812; San Francisco, California in 1906; Anchorage, Alaska in 1964; and Loma Prieta, California in 1989.
