2010 Kalgoorlie-Boulder earthquake
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Kalgoorlie-Boulder earthquake was a Richter magnitude
5.0 earthquake
that occurred near the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder
, Western Australia
on 20 April 2010 at approximately 8:17 am WST
.
The earthquake caused major damage to the historic buildings in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Its epicenter
was approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Kalgoorlie, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi). The duration of shaking lasted about 10–15 seconds and was felt up to 1007 km (625.7 mi) away. It was also the largest recorded in the Goldfields region and one of the largest in Australia. No one was killed but two people were treated at Kalgoorlie Hospital for minor injuries resulting from the earthquake. It resulted in the temporary closure of local gold mines including the Super Pit gold mine
.
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
5.0 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 near the city of Kalgoorlie-Boulder
Kalgoorlie, Western Australia
Kalgoorlie, known as Kalgoorlie-Boulder, is a town in the Goldfields-Esperance region of Western Australia, and is located east-northeast of state capital Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
on 20 April 2010 at approximately 8:17 am WST
Time in Australia
Australia uses Standard time, i.e: the same well defined time for a region. The proper names of Australia's time zones are Australian Western Standard Time , Australian Central Standard Time , and Australian Eastern Standard Time...
.
The earthquake caused major damage to the historic buildings in Kalgoorlie-Boulder. Its epicenter
Epicenter
The epicenter or epicentre is the point on the Earth's surface that is directly above the hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or underground explosion originates...
was approximately 10 km (6.2 mi) southwest of Kalgoorlie, at a depth of 10 km (6.2 mi). The duration of shaking lasted about 10–15 seconds and was felt up to 1007 km (625.7 mi) away. It was also the largest recorded in the Goldfields region and one of the largest in Australia. No one was killed but two people were treated at Kalgoorlie Hospital for minor injuries resulting from the earthquake. It resulted in the temporary closure of local gold mines including the Super Pit gold mine
Super Pit gold mine
The Fimiston Open Pit, colloquially known as the Super Pit, is Australia's largest open cut gold mine. The Super Pit is located off the Goldfields Highway on the south-east edge of Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia. The pit is oblong in shape and is approximately 3.5 kilometres long, 1.5...
.
External links
- Australian Goldfields rocked by largest earthquake in 50 years - Times Online
- Biggest quake in 50 years hits Australia's Goldfields - Agence France-PresseAgence France-PresseAgence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...
- Moderate earthquake rattles Western Australia Goldfields - Herald SunHerald SunThe Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...