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February 22, 2023

On February 6, 2023, a M 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Turkey near the northern border of Syria. This earthquake was followed about 9 hours later by a M 7.5 earthquake approximately 90 km to the north.

map of Turkey area with red lines for plate boundaries, arrows showing plate motion, and labels fsor plate
This tectonic map of the Turkey region shows the tectonic plates in the area and their direction of motion (arrows). The red lines indicate the plate boundaries and the small black arrows next to the red lines show the relative motion across the plate boundaries. The gold star shows the location of the M7.8 mainshock on February 6, 2023, and the blue star shows the location of the M7.5 aftershock later on February 6, 2023.

A new geonarrative explains the tectonic setting of Turkey, historical seismicity of Turkey from 1900, details on both the M 7.8 and M 7.5 earthquake sequences, kinematics of the earthquake rupture, remote sensing observations that show displacements across the active faults. Interactive maps show the sequence of earthquakes, including a M 6.7 earthquake on January 24, 2020, that occurred on the adjacent section of the East Anatolian fault. Watch the earthquakes occur on an animated timeline and learn about the stress around the faults before and after the earthquake sequence.

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