Significant Quake Strikes near Frontera, Canary Islands

SIGNIFICANT EARTHQUAKES 2013

Magnitude 5.4 earthquake strikes 31km NW of Frontera, Canary Islands, Spain

The earthquake, centered at 27.915°N, 18.271°W, about 31km NW of El Hierro, struck at a depth  of about 23 km [ GEOFON Program reported depth as 10km.]

El Hierro (area: 280 km², Elevation 1,500; population: 14,000) is a steeply mountainous volcanic island, which emerged from the ocean about 1.2 million year ago following three successive explosive eruptions. The only recorded eruption on the island in recent times occurred in 1793, which lasted for more than 30 days and produced lava flows, after the Volcan de Lomo Negro vented.

Earthquake Location Map

Source: USGS/EHP. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH Blog.

Quake Details [USGS/EHP]

• Event Time: 2013-12-27 at 17:46UTC
• Location: 27.915°N 18.271°W; Depth=22.8km [18.19°W, 27.87°N; Depth: 10km GEOFON Program]
• Nearby Cities
  • 31km (19mi) NW of Frontera, Spain
  • 89km (55mi) SSW of Los Llanos de Aridane, Spain
  • 98km (61mi) SSW of Santa Cruz de la Palma, Spain
  • 148km (92mi) WSW of Santiago del Teide, Spain
  • 507km (315mi) W of Laayoune / El Aaiun, Western Sahara