RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES VOL. 5, NO. 6, PAGES 439–454, doi:10.2205/2003ES000141, 2003

A strong earthquake of 2003 in Gornyi Altai

Schmidt United Institute of Physics of the Earth, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

S. G. Platonova

Altai State University, Russia

Abstract

[1]  The aim of this paper is to describe the macroseismic, geological, and seismological manifestations of the strong earthquake that occurred in the south of the Gornyi (Mountainous) Altai area on September 27, 2003. The earthquake caused damage to buildings and constructions in the area of the Chuya and Kurai depressions and was accompanied by the manifestation of the earthquake source on the ground surface with the formation of a system of WNW-oriented faults, which has been traced over a distance of 20 km in the region of the eastward plunge of the North Chuya Range. Secondary seismic dislocations manifested themselves in the form of rockfalls, landslides, and griffons in the area of the pleistoseist zone. The results of the preliminary study of the tectonic position of the earthquake source suggest that the Gornyi Altai is a direct continuation of the Mongolia and Gobi Altai areas, where earthquakes with magnitudes of more than 7.0 were recorded repeatedly, and allow us to combine all of the mountain systems of the Great Altai into one high-magnitude seismotectonic province.

Received 15 January 2004; published 22 January 2004.

Keywords: earthquake, macroseismic, geological, and seismological manifestations, Altai area, seismotectonic province.