139° 140° 141° 142° 143° 144° 145° 146°

139° 140° 141° 142° 143° 144° 145° 146°

41°

42°

43°

44°

45°

46°

41°

42°

43°

44°

45°

46°

H O K K A I D O

S E A O F J A P A NS E A O F

O K H O T S K

P A C I F I C O C E A N

SAPPORO

TOMAKOMAI

KUSHIRO

I s h i k a r iB a y

U c h i u r aB a y

T s u g a r u S t r a i t

K u n a s h i r(Russian administration)

Epicentral AreaSAKHALIN

Nemu

ro Str

ait

HONSHU

19151913191719431914 19191974196819001945

1983 197119021916

1968190219201951

19021952

1944

194519091915

195219521982 19011932

1981 1945195219521944 19621987

1981 1961194319021953

1993 196119311993

1973

19071907

19471947

19421927

19401963

196919161905

1924

19501911

Usu

Akan

E-san

Yotei

Mashu

Rausu

Niseko

Kuttara

Tokachi

Rishiri

Shikotsu

Kutcharo

Daisetsu

GolovninMendeleev

Osore-yama

Nigorigawa

Shiribetsu

Komaga-take

Oshima-OshimaMutsu-Hiuchi-dake

Shiretoko-Iwo-zan

Shikaribetsu Group

Nipesotsu-Upepesanke

1

SAI

OMA

ONO

OMU

MORI

DATE

YUNI

Maku

Tappi

OHATA

ErimoOTOBE

Aonae

HIROO

TAIKIShowa

ABUTASukkiHongo

Kohan MoiwaENIWA

IKEDANinyu

OTARU

BIBAI

OKETO

RuchiSHARIRUMOI

RAUSUAsahiSeiwa

Kyoei

KANITA

ESASHI

SAMANI

NodaoiMiyano YAKUMO

SETANA PirikaChuruiMUKAWA

TaishaSUTTSUOIWAKE

RushinIWANAI

YUBARITomari Tokiwa SakuraYOICHI

MIKASA

NEMUROBEKKAIATSUTA

OdaitoFujimi

Yawara HINODEKuzure KITAMINUMATA BIHIRO

ENGARUTOKORO

NAYOROHABORO

OKOPPEBIFUKAHassen

TESHIOESASHI

Shanai

Shiriya

KIKONAIOgiishi Yunotai

Kakkumi

Ayukawa URAKAWA

MURORANKuroiwaIMAGANE

SHIRAOITOYOURA

HaruutaHOBETSU

URAHOROCHITOSEOmbetsu

KUTCHANOTOFUKESHIMIZU

AKKESHI

IkutoraTOBETSU

Notsuka

AKABIRA

MASHIKE

WASSAMU

Hideura

YUBETSU

TOMAMAE

EMBETSU

KafukaiWAKKANA Mineoka

YOKOHAMAKODOMARI

IMABETSU KAWAUCHIUshitaki

MATSUMAEShizuura

HAKODATE

OnitoppuOkushiri

YunohamaSHIZUNAI

MOMBETSU

HAYAKITAKOMBETSURANKOSHI

KURIYAMASHINTOKU

POMBETSUKAMOENAI HamanakaFutamataAtsutokoFURUBIRA

SHIBECHA

SUNAGAWA

TAKIKAWA Futamata

SHIBETSUMOSEUSHI TSUBETSU

Kamikawa

AlekhinoABASHIRI

KEMBUCHISHIBETSU TAKINOUE

Nazarovo

MOMBETSU

HORONOBETOYOTOMISenhoshi

Numakawa

Dalnyaya

SHIRIUCHI

Todohokke

Ikusagawa

HOROBETSU

OSHAMAMBE

Shimamaki

SHIRANUKA

IsobunnaiAKANKOHAN

TESHIKAGA

Kawashimo

ASAHIKAWARUBESHIBE

KOSHIMIZU

HorokanaiSHIMOKAWA

OtoineppuShibiutan

UTANOBORI

SARUFUTSU

WAKINOSAWAKodanosawa

Kami-ibise

ASHOROBUTO

Penkebetsu

RIKUMBETSU

MEMAMBETSU

Kunneshiri

Motodomari

Inahomisaki

Naka-ashoroShimizudani

NAKA-SAROMA

Ichinohashi

SHOSAMBETSU

Soya-misaki

KUROMATSUNAI

Shimo-futano

Rukushibetsu

NAKA-YUBETSU

Naka-osobetsu

NAKA-SHIBETSU

Kami-sattsuru

Kami-kawakita

Kobukarikotan

Naka-tombetsu

Moto-sarabetsu

HIGASHI-MOKOTO

Yuzhno-Kurilsk

Homa-onishibetsu

2004

2003

1900

1945

1916

Sahara

EBETSU

SOBETSU

KARIBUTO

FUKAGAWA

FUKUSHIMA

HOROIZUMI

IWAMIZAWA

ASHIBETSU

Nishi-okappe

Map prepared by U.S. Geological SurveyNational Earthquake Information Center13 December 2004Map not approved for release by Director USGS

DATA SOURCESEARTHQUAKES AND SEISMIC HAZARD USGS, National Earthquake Information Center NOAA, National Geophysical Data Center IASPEI, Centennial Catalog (1900 - 1999) and extensions (Engdahl and Villaseñor, 2002) HDF (unpublished earthquake catalog) (Engdahl, 2003) Global Seismic Hazard Assessment ProgramPLATE TECTONICS PB2003 (Bird, 2003)VOLCANOES Smithsonian Institution, Global Volcano ProgramBASE MAP NIMA and ESRI, Digital Chart of the World USGS, EROS Data Center NEWS SOURCESAssociated PressReuters.com

EARTHQUAKE SUMMARY MAP XXXU.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORU.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

M7.0 Hokkaido, Japan Earthquake of 28 November 2004

0 50 100 150 20025Kilometers

SCALE 1:1,500,000Albers Equal-Area Projection

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

Tectonic Setting

SOUTHKOREA

NORTHKOREA

RUSSIAC H I N A

J A P A N

P A C I F I CO C E A N

S E A O F J A P A N

E A S TC H I N A

S E A

P H I L I P P I N ES E A

HONSHU

HOKKAIDO

KYUSHUSHIKOKU

R y u k y u I s l a n d

s

I z u I s l a n d sB o n i n I s l a n d s

S E A O FO K H O T S K

DETAILED MAP

P A C I F I CP L A T E

P H I L I P P I N E S E AP L A T E

A M U RP L A T E

TOKYO

R y u k y u T r e

n c h

Kuril Tren

ch

J a p

a n T

r e n

c h

I z u T r e n c hB o n i n T r e n c h

S o u t h H o n s h u R i d g e

YellowSea

SAPPORO

SEOUL

PYONGYANG

83 mm/yrOKHOTSKP L A T E

YANGTZEPLATE

EURASIANPLATE

HOKKAIDO, JAPAN28 November 2004 18:32:13.95 UTC42.982° N., 145.078° E.Depth 39 kmMw = 7.0 (USGS)A powerful earthquake struck Hokkaido, Japan's northern islandearly in the morning of 29 November. The magnitude 7.0 shockinjured at least eight people, two seriously; most of the injuriesoccurred in the cities of Kushiro, Nemuro, and Bekkaicho. Prop-erty damage was not serious, consisting mainly of items thrownfrom shelves in grocery stores. Over 600 homes temporarily lostpower and natural gas services and train service was suspended for a short time. A small tsunami, several centimeters in height, was observed along portions of the eastern coastline.

EXPLANATIONMain Shock

28 November 2004Aftershocks

Through 8 December 2004Depth Classes

0 - 69 km70 - 299 km300 - 700 km

RoadsFreeway

Connector

Major highway

Railroad

Magnitude Classes4.0 - 4.44.5 - 4.95.0 - 5.45.5 - 5.96.0 - 6.46.5 - 6.9

7.0 - 7.4

7.5 - 7.9

8.0 - 8.4

8.5 - 8.9

Urban Area

Volcano

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

Seismicity 1900 - 2002

SOUTHKOREA

NORTHKOREA

RUSSIAC H I N A

J A P A N

P A C I F I CO C E A N

S E A O F J A P A N

E A S TC H I N A

S E A

P H I L I P P I N ES E A

HONSHU

HOKKAIDO

KYUSHUSHIKOKU

R y u k y u I s l a n d

s

I z u I s l a n d sB o n i n I s l a n d s

S E A O FO K H O T S K

DETAILED MAP

P A C I F I CP L A T E

P H I L I P P I N E S E AP L A T E

EURASIANPLATE

TOKYO

YellowSea

SAPPORO

SEOUL

PYONGYANG

YANGTZEPLATE

AMURPLATE

OKHOTSKPLATE

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

125° 130° 135° 140°

145°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

25°

30°

35°

40°

45°

Generalized Seismic Hazard

SOUTHKOREA

NORTHKOREA

RUSSIAC H I N A

J A P A N

P A C I F I CO C E A N

S E A O F J A P A N

E A S TC H I N A

S E A

P H I L I P P I N ES E A

HONSHU

HOKKAIDO

KYUSHUSHIKOKU

R y u k y u I s l a n d

s

I z u I s l a n d sB o n i n I s l a n d s

S E A O FO K H O T S K

DETAILED MAP

P A C I F I CP L A T E

P H I L I P P I N E S E AP L A T E

EURASIANPLATE

TOKYO

YellowSea

SAPPORO

SEOUL

PYONGYANG

A M U RP L A T E

OKHOTSKPLATE

YANGTZEPLATE

RELATIVE PLATE MOTIONSThe relative motion of adjacent tectonicplates is depicted on the map by short vectors located at selected points on the plate boundary. In this presentation, one plate (the fixed reference plate) is assum-ed to be rigid. The vector therefore rep-resents the direction of the moving plate relative to the reference plate. The rate of relative motion is labelled next to the vector.The components of the vector perpen-dicular and parallel to the plate margin approximate convergent/divergent and transverse direction of motion between the plates, respectively. As viewed from the fixed plate, an inward directed com-ponent suggests convergence at and near the plate boundary that may be ex-pressed as crustal folding, uplift, thrustfaulting, or plate subduction. Similarly, an outward directed component sug-gests plate divergence such as would be expected at a zone of crustal spread-ing. Transcurrent or transform faultingwould be expected when the predom-inant vector component is parallel to theplate margin.

EXPLANATIONMain Shock

28 November 2004Plate Boundaries

Continental ConvergentContinental RiftContinental LL TransformContinental RL TransformOceanic ConvergentOceanic RiftOceanic LL TransformOceanic RL TransformSubduction

VolcanoSeismic Hazard

0.0 - 0.2 m/sec²0.2 - 0.40.4 - 0.80.8 - 1.61.6 - 3.23.2 - 6.46.4 - 9.4

Seismic hazard is expressed as peak ground acceleration (PGA) on firm rock,in meters/sec², expected to be exceededin a 50-yr period with a probability of 10 percent.

EXPLANATIONMain Shock

28 November 2004Depth Classes

0 - 69 km70 - 299 300 - 700

Magnitude Classes5.00 - 5.495.50 - 5.996.00 - 6.496.50 - 6.997.00 - 7.497.50 - 8.00

Plate BoundariesContinental ConvergentContinental RiftContinental LL TransformContinental RL TransformOceanic ConvergentOceanic RiftOceanic LL TransformOceanic RL TransformSubduction

Volcano

MAJOR EARTHQUAKES 1900 - 2003 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION

YR MO DAY LAT LON DEPTH MAG

1900 8 29 41.200 142.800 35.0 6.8 1900 12 25 43.000 146.000 35.0 7.1 1901 1 13 42.300 143.800 35.0 6.8 1902 1 17 41.600 141.900 35.0 6.5 1902 1 31 41.600 142.200 35.0 6.6 1902 2 20 41.400 141.800 35.0 6.7 1902 5 28 42.800 144.800 35.0 6.5 1905 9 1 45.000 143.000 250.0 7.3 1907 7 5 43.700 145.500 100.0 6.8 1907 12 23 43.800 145.000 150.0 6.9 1909 9 16 42.000 142.000 35.0 6.8 1911 9 6 46.000 143.000 350.0 7.0 1913 2 20 41.000 144.000 0.0 7.0 1914 2 7 41.000 143.000 35.0 6.8 1915 3 17 42.100 143.600 35.0 7.2 1915 12 6 41.000 145.000 35.0 6.5 1916 1 25 45.000 144.000 250.0 6.9 1916 3 18 41.500 144.500 35.0 6.6 1916 10 28 46.000 146.000 100.0 6.5 1917 7 29 41.000 144.000 0.0 7.0 1919 5 3 41.007 145.233 35.0 7.3 1920 9 16 41.600 142.100 35.0 6.5 1924 11 25 45.500 142.000 300.0 6.7 1927 7 12 44.367 145.722 35.0 6.8 1931 3 29 42.918 143.866 89.7 6.8 1932 11 26 42.379 142.543 45.5 6.8 1940 8 1 44.508 139.829 35.0 7.5 1942 3 5 44.272 141.632 259.0 7.0 1943 6 13 42.750 143.250 60.0 7.1 1943 6 13 41.000 143.300 0.0 6.5 1944 2 1 41.800 142.100 0.0 6.6 1944 10 2 42.500 142.500 75.0 6.8 1945 2 10 41.250 142.500 50.0 7.1 1945 2 18 42.000 143.000 50.0 6.7 1945 6 22 44.000 146.000 120.0 6.9 1945 9 19 42.500 144.400 65.0 6.6 1947 11 4 44.000 140.500 0.0 7.1 1947 11 14 43.900 143.200 160.0 6.7 1950 2 28 46.000 144.000 340.0 7.5 1951 10 18 41.600 142.000 33.0 6.5 1952 3 4 42.500 143.000 0.0 8.1 1952 3 4 42.200 143.900 0.0 7.1 1952 3 4 41.700 144.900 64.0 6.5 1952 3 9 42.500 143.000 0.0 7.2 1952 5 19 42.200 143.900 0.0 6.8 1953 10 14 42.800 144.600 128.0 6.9 1961 8 11 42.913 145.304 35.0 7.2 1961 11 15 42.723 145.315 52.3 6.8 1962 4 23 42.529 144.069 35.0 6.9 1963 4 1 44.606 141.422 260.7 6.7 1968 5 16 41.593 142.786 11.8 7.8 1968 6 17 41.095 143.072 37.2 7.0 1969 1 19 44.891 143.207 237.1 7.3 1971 8 2 41.378 143.459 53.8 7.2 1973 6 17 43.223 145.743 43.3 7.8 1974 10 10 41.074 143.078 43.4 7.0 1981 1 23 42.498 142.134 115.9 6.8 1981 5 8 42.657 139.166 219.1 6.5 1982 3 21 42.262 142.423 27.4 6.9 1983 6 21 41.358 139.124 17.1 6.8 1987 1 14 42.597 142.793 102.0 6.8 1993 1 15 43.022 144.124 102.0 7.6 1993 7 12 42.883 139.225 20.4 7.7 2003 9 25 41.815 143.910 27.0 8.3

0 100 200 300 40050Kilometers

SCALE 1:15,000,000Albers Equal-Area Projection

0 100 200 300 40050Kilometers

SCALE 1:15,000,000Albers Equal-Area Projection

0 100 200 300 40050Kilometers

SCALE 1:15,000,000Albers Equal-Area Projection

DISCUSSIONThe preliminary location and focal-mechanism of this earthquake imply that it occurred as the result of thrust-faulting on the plate interface between the overriding Okhotsk plate and the subducting Pacific plate. The Pacific plate is moving northwest at a rate of about 80 mm per year relative to the Okhotsk plate. The Pacific plate begins its decent into the mantle at the Kuril trench that lies about 160 km to the southeast of the earthquake. At the trench, the Pacific plate subducts at an extreme-ly low angle. When it reaches a depth of about 30 km, the angle of sub-duction steepens to about 30 degrees. In addition to experiencing significant thrust earthquakes that originate at the interface between the plates, eastern Hokkaido experiences great earthquakes within the interior of subducted Pacific plate. The earth-quakes of September 25, 2003, March 4, 1952, and May 16, 1968 (cited at far right) were interface-thrust earthquakes, whereas the earthquake of January 15, 1993 occurred within the interior of the subducted Pacific plate.

PREVIOUS NOTEWORTHY EARTHQUAKES IN THIS REGION2003 September 25, Magnitude 8.3At least 589 people injured, extensive damage, landslides and power outages occurred and many roads damaged in southeastern Hokkaido. A tsunami generated with an estimated wave height of 4.0 metersalong the southeastern coast of Hokkaido. Felt strongly in much of Hokkaido. Also felt in northern and much of central Honshu as far south as Tokyo. 1993 January 15, Magnitude 7.6 2 killed. 614 injured and substantial damage (VI JMA) at Kushiro, Hok-kaido and Hachinohe, Honshu. Felt (V JMA) at Hiroo, Nemuro, Obihiro, Otaru and Urakawa; (IV JMA) at Hakodate and Tomakomai; (III JMA) at Sapporo, Hokkaido. Felt (IV JMA) at Aomori and Morioka; (III JMA) at Akita, Fukushima, Sendai, Tokyo and Yokohama, Honshu. Also felt (VII) on Shikotan and (VI) at Kurilsk, Kuril Islands. Landslides and sub-sidence occurred in the epicentral area. 1968 May 16, Magnitude 7.9 48 killed. Damage estimate at 25 million USD. 1952 March 4, Magnitude 8.1 31 killed, 72 injured; 713 houses destroyed, 5,980 damaged. 28 killed and warehouses destroyed at Kushiro. 3 killed and 309 houses destroyed at Kira-tapu. 1,000 houses destroyed or damaged at Shiranuka and 400 schools col-lapsed at Sapporo. 10-foot tsunami.

DISCLAIMERBase map data, such as place names and politicalboundaries, are the best available but may not be current or may contain inaccuracies and thereforeshould not be regarded as having official significance.

REFERENCESBird, P., 2003, An updated digital model of plate boundaries: Geochem. Geophys. Geosyst., v. 4, no. 3, pp. 1027- 80.Engdahl, E.R. and Villaseñor, A., 2002, Global Seismicity: 1900 - 1999, chap. 41 of Lee, W.H.K., and others,eds., International Earthquake and Engineering Seismology, Part A: New York, N.Y., Elsevier Academeic Press, 932 p.Engdahl, E.R., Van der Hilst, R.D., and Buland, R.P., 1998, Global teleseismic earthquake relocation with improved trav- el times and procedures for depth determination: Bull. Seism. Soc. Amer., v. 88, p. 722-743.