1875 Cúcuta earthquake - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Earthquake of Cúcuta also known as Earthquake of the Andes was an earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

that occurred on 18 May 1875 at 11:15 AM. It completely demolished Cúcuta

Cúcuta

Cúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...

, Villa del Rosario

Villa del Rosario

Villa del Rosario is the name of several places:* Villa del Rosario, Córdoba, Argentina* Villa del Rosario, Entre Ríos, Argentina* Villa del Rosario, the former name of present-day Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina* Villa del Rosario, Norte de Santander, Colombia...

(Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

), San Antonio del Tachira

San Antonio del Tachira

San Antonio del Táchira is a city in the Venezuelan Andean state of Táchira. The busy highway linking the cities of Cúcuta, Colombia, and San Cristóbal, Venezuela, passes through San Antonio del Táchira, making it an important gateway between the two nations...

and Capacho (Venezuela

Venezuela

Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...

). The earthquake killed many Venezuelans in San Cristóbal

San Cristóbal, Táchira

San Cristóbal is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of Táchira. It is located in a mountainous region of Western Venezuela. The city is situated 818 m/2,625 ft above sea level in the northern Andes overlooking the Torbes River, 56 km/35 mi from the Colombian border. San...

, La Mulata

La mulata

La mulata or Kitchen Maid with the Supper of Emmaus is one of the first known works by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez, possibly begun at the end of 1617 or the start of 1618 and completed around 1623 in Seville. It shows a mulatto kitchen maid, with the supper at Emmaus in the left background....

, Rubio

Rubio

Rubio was an American thoroughbred racehorse best remembered as the winner of the 1908 Grand National steeplechase run at Aintree, England.The horse was bred in Rancho del Paso stud in California in 1898 by La Toquera and Star Ruby from the damsire Sir Mordred by breeder, James Ben Ali Haggin and...

, Michelena

Michelena

Michelena is a town in Táchira state, Venezuela. It was founded in 1849 by José Amando Pérez. It has a population of 22.500.*Marcos Pérez Jiménez, a former president of Venezuela, was born there.*Source: Wikipedia in Spanish....

, La Grita

La Grita

La Grita is a town in Táchira state, Venezuela. It has a population of 80.000. It is located in the North West of Tachira State. Founded by the Spanish Captain Francisco de Cáceres, in 1573, also known as ciudad de Atenas or ciudad del Espíritu Santo, it was the capital of the Province of La Grita...

, Colón

Colón, Venezuela

Colón is a town in the Venezuelan Andean state of Táchira. This town is the shire town of the Ayacucho Municipality and, according to the 2001 Venezuelan census, the municipality has a population of 48,982.-Demographics:...

, amongst others, and was felt in both Bogotá

Bogotá

Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...

and Caracas

Caracas

Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...

.

That day, the city of Cúcuta

Cúcuta

and the town of Villa del Rosario

Villa del Rosario

, in the Norte de Santander department (Colombia) and the municipalities of San Antonio del Táchira

San Antonio del Tachira

and Capacho, Táchira State

Táchira (state)

Táchira State is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. The state capital is San Cristóbal.Táchira State covers a total surface area of 11,100 km² and, in 2007, had an estimated population of 1,177,300....

(Venezuela) were destroyed totally by this catastrophic earthquake. Villa del Rosario

Villa del Rosario

was a historical and calm population. In 1821 had met in the main church (nowsdays Historic church) to means to construct, the members of the First Congress of the Great Colombia, known as Congress of Cúcuta

Congress of Cúcuta

The Congress of Cúcuta was a constituent assembly where Gran Colombia was created. The Congress elected Simón Bolívar and Francisco de Paula Santander president and vice-president, respectively....

.

Still it is observed the rest of the church that collapse during the great seismic movement, the houses of that time in the zone were of the purest Spanish colonial style

Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture

The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural stylistic movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in California and Florida as a regional expression related to history, environment, and nostalgia...

Death toll

The exact number of victims is not known; Spokane Daily Chronicle reported that the figure was as many as 2,500, while other sources say that the death toll was about 1,000. Early newspaper reports put the number at 8 to 10,000. The Evening Post
Evening Post
Evening Post may refer to:Newspapers:* Bristol Evening Post* Evening Post, Charleston; now The Post and Courier* New Evening Post * Jersey Evening Post* Lancashire Evening Post* London Evening Post...

wrote 5,000 died outright with a further 9,000 dying from the after effects such as fever

Fever

Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...

and lockjaw

Lockjaw

-Medical conditions and diseases:* trismus, a pathological condition in which the mouth is held shut by sustained spasm of the masseter muscle, often observed in cases of tetanus.* tetanus, an infectious disease of the central nervous system.-In music:...

Affected areas

The earthquake covered 5 degrees of Latitude

Latitude

In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...

and was 500 miles long. Populated areas affected were, Villa of the Rosary, San Luis

San Luis

San Luis, the Spanish name for Saint Louis, is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken. It may refer to:*Argentina** San Luis Province** San Luis, Argentina, that province's capital city*Colombia...

, Salazar

Salazar

- Angola :* Vila Salazar, Portuguese colonial name for the city of N'dalatando in the province of Cuanza Norte- Spain :* Salazar , a village in the municipality of Villarcayo de Merindad de Castilla la Vieja, province of Burgos, in the autonomous community of Castile and León* Salazar Valley, in...

, Woods of the Palms, Gramalote

Gramalote

Gramalote is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of North Santander.Currently, the complete destruction of the town is considered imminent due to massive mudslides brought about by unprecedented flooding that most of Colombia has undergone.Its average temperature is 23 °C...

, Bochalema

Bochalema

Bochalema is a Colombian municipality and town located in the department of North Santander.-References:...

and San Faustino in Colombia

Colombia

. San Antonio, Capacho, San Cristóbal

San Cristóbal, Táchira

, the Mulata, Rubio

Rubio

, Michelena

Michelena

, La Grita