The territory of the Altai Territory is rather heterogeneousby its geological structure, which is manifested in the high seismic activity of the region. The first references to earthquakes in the Altai, documented in documentary terms, date back to the 18th century. Modern seismic activity is characterized by the probability of occurrence of earthquakes within the limits of 8 points.
Any natural phenomenon attracts attention notso much due to little study, but because of its unpredictability. The earthquake is a series of earthquakes that occur due to shifts in the lithospheric plates. In addition, this phenomenon can arise as a result of a person's careless attitude to nature, that is, from nuclear explosions or the collapse of mines.
Quite often earthquakes occur at the bottom of the oceans, and this avoids the great catastrophic consequences for the multi-urban cities.
Some tremors can be felt only by instruments; others sometimes do terrible damage to cities and even countries, while taking with them a huge number of human lives.
In order to know the amount of energy,allocated by subterranean vibrations, it is necessary to use the Richter scale. It is a classification of earthquakes by magnitude, which are defined in conventional units from 1 to 9.5. The data on the oscillations are obtained with the help of a seismograph recording the shifts of tectonic and lithospheric plates.
The intensity of the earthquake is measured byscale of Merkalli and can be from 1 to 12 points. This means that all earthquakes can be divided into 12 groups, each of which is characterized by the strength of manifestation of destruction, for example:
It is impossible to confuse the measurement of energy and intensityearthquakes. The energy becomes known immediately after receiving the seismogram and helps to locate the source of seismic oscillations, and the intensity is the ratio of the magnitude of the oscillations and the activity of the tremors.
Earthquakes occur daily in manysites around the world. Russia in this respect was lucky a bit more: its territory is located mainly on a single tectonic plate. Nevertheless, in areas such as the North Caucasus and the Kamchatka Peninsula, the boundaries of the plate are clearly marked, so that these regions can be subjected to some tremors.
At the same time, the most dangerous and seismically unstable regions are Altai, Eastern Siberia and Yakutia. The possible intensity of earthquakes averages 4-6 points.
Until some time the territory of the Altai Territorywas relatively stable in seismic terms. But historical documents from 1761 report the occurrence of a huge force: the magnitude of the oscillations was 8, and the intensity was about 11 points on the modern scale. In addition, traces of ancient changes in tectonic plates were found. It was in ancient times that local residents surrounded with a haze of mystery almost any natural phenomenon. According to AA Nikonov's book "Earthquakes ... (Past, Present, Forecast)", an earthquake in the Altai was perceived as "careless movement of a monster living underground". Another legend existed at the time of paganism. It refers to a woman who violated the ban on the presence of the sacrifice and was the reason for the dissolution of the god-amphibian union. The wrath of this god was so great that the mountain on which this god lived, "shook to the ground".
As can be seen from the aforementioned legends, the earthquake in the mountainous Altai was perceived in antiquity as a manifestation of the discontent of the celestials.
The earthquake in the Altai is no longer an extremely rare event. It's just not always noticeable to people, more often underground tremors are recorded only by instruments.
If we consider the period of the twentieth century,to find out data on strong tremors. Scientific articles mention a phenomenon such as the Tsetzerlag earthquake. In Altai this incident is far from the only one. In addition to it, many other seismic vibrations are given, with a smaller magnitude.
We must not forget about the strongest of the knownearthquakes of this historical period. It happened in 1965, and its intensity was 7 points. This seismic phenomenon happened near the town of Kamen. Underground pushes were accompanied by a rumble, and the whole Kamensk region was subjected to considerable destruction.
The XXI century has already been remembered by the residents of Altaithe edges. In 2003 there was a strong earthquake. In Altai it is known as Chui. Its magnitude was 7.3, and the intensity in the epicenter was 9 points. The consequences of this seismic shock were landslides, talus and rockfalls. In addition, so-called mud volcanoes appeared throughout the Chui steppe. Truly impressive was a landslide 1 km wide, descended on the right bank of the Taltury River. There are opinions that this is by no means the most striking thing that an earthquake can do.
In Altai in August 2016 people with fearwaited for the promised underground vibrations. According to forecasts, tremors with a magnitude of up to 5.0 were indicated during the first decade of August. The Ministry of Emergency Situations of the Russian Federation for the Altai Territory indicated this information on its official website. And indeed, the earthquake in the Altai in August 2016 (August 9, 2016) really happened. And not one, but three, and for one day. In 225 km to the south-east of Gorno-Altaisk early in the morning the first earthquake oscillations in the Altai were recorded. The forecast began to come true. And in the afternoon with a difference in a minute two more tremors were registered for 149 km to the south and 87 km to the north-east from Gorno-Altaisk, respectively.
As it turned out later, the earthquakes occurred due to the proximity of the seismic activity focus. In this region, the process of mountain building has been going on for more than 10 years.
Earthquake in the Altai in August 2016 whileremains the strongest since 2003. But according to the calculations of scientists, the activity of seismic fluctuations increases, and this can make the Altai Territory dangerous for living. Taking into account the peculiarities of the tectonic structure of this region, it can be assumed that underground oscillations with a magnitude of up to 5.0 are far from the limit. Therefore, residents of Altai are recommended to protect their homes whenever possible and in case of an earthquake not to panic.
