1755 Kashan earthquake
| Local date |
|
|---|---|
| Epicenter | Kashan, Afsharid Iran |
| Areas affected | Iran |
| Tsunami | No |
| Casualties | Uncertain; up to 40,000 deaths listed in global catalogues[1] |
The 1755 Kashan earthquake was a destructive historical earthquake that affected Kashan in central Iran on June 7, 1755. The event predates instrumental seismology, and its magnitude, intensity, and death toll remain uncertain. Global earthquake catalogues list heavy casualties, while later seismotectonic literature treats the event as one of the destructive historical earthquakes associated with the Kashan Fault.[1][2][3]
The earthquake was followed in the same region by the 1778 Kashan earthquake, which also destroyed much of the city.[3]
Tectonic setting
Kashan lies near the western margin of the Central Iranian Plateau, close to the northeastern foot of the Karkas Mountains and the western edge of the Dasht-e Kavir.[3] The main active structure in the area is the Kashan Fault, a northwest–southeast-striking right-lateral strike-slip fault more than 220 km long.[3]
The Sialk archaeological mounds lie southwest of Kashan, between the city and the Kashan Fault. The area has preserved evidence of repeated seismic and environmental crises over a long settlement history.[3]
Earthquake
The earthquake occurred on June 7, 1755.[1] Its source parameters are not securely established. Historical catalogues preserve the event as a destructive earthquake in the Kashan area, but the available open summaries give incomplete or conflicting values for magnitude and casualties.[1][2]
Kashan was destroyed during the 1755 and 1778 earthquakes, both associated with reactivation of the adjacent Kashan Fault.[3] The 1755 event therefore belongs to the short historical record of damaging earthquakes on or near that fault.[3]
Impact
The earthquake caused severe destruction in Kashan.[3] Casualty figures are uncertain. The NCEI/WDS global significant earthquake database lists 40,000 deaths for the event, while the underlying historical record does not allow a secure independent death toll to be fixed here.[1]
The destruction of Kashan in the XVIII century is important for the seismic history of the city because the built environment was affected again by the 1778 earthquake.[3]
Seismic significance
The 1755 earthquake is part of the historical seismic record used in evaluating the Kashan Fault and the seismic hazard of the Kashan–Sialk area.[3] The fault has also been discussed in archaeoseismological work at the Sialk Mounds, where older earthquake-related damage has been investigated through collapsed walls, damaged floors, disturbed skeletons, and other archaeological evidence.[3]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (1972), Significant Earthquake Information (Data set), National Centers for Environmental Information, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K, retrieved June 19, 2026
- 1 2 Ambraseys, N. N.; Melville, C. P. (1982). A History of Persian Earthquakes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02187-6.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Berberian, Manuel; Malek Shahmirzadi, Sadegh; Nokandeh, Jebra'il; Djamali, Morteza (2012). "Archeoseismicity and environmental crises at the Sialk Mounds, Central Iranian Plateau, since the Early Neolithic". Journal of Archaeological Science. 39 (9): 2845–2858. doi:10.1016/j.jas.2012.04.001. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
Further reading
- Berberian, Manuel (2014). Earthquakes and Coseismic Surface Faulting on the Iranian Plateau. Developments in Earth Surface Processes. Vol. 17. Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-444-63292-0.
- Ambraseys, N. N.; Melville, C. P. (1982). A History of Persian Earthquakes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02187-6.
- Berberian, Manuel (1994). Natural Hazards and the First Earthquake Catalogue of Iran. Tehran: International Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Seismology.