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{{Short description|Disaster in Himachal Pradesh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2017}}
{{Infobox earthquake
| title = 1905 Kangra earthquake
| timestamp = 1905-04-04 00:50:00
| anss-url = iscgem16957848
| isc-event = 16957848
| local-date = {{Start date|df=yes|1905|04|04}}
| local-time = Early morning
| map2 = {{Location map | India
| label =
| lat = 33.0
| long = 76.0
| mark = Bullseye1.png
| marksize = 40
| position = top
| width = 250
| float = right
| caption =
| relief = yes}}
| magnitude = 7.8 [[Moment magnitude scale|M<sub>s</sub>]]<ref name="Ambraseys"/>
| depth =
| location = {{coord|33.0|N|76.0|E|type:event_region:IN-HP|display=inline,title}}<ref name=Utsu/>
| countries affected = [[British Raj|Colonial India]]
| fault = [[Main Himalayan Thrust]]
| intensity = {{EMS-98|IX}}<ref name=Martin/><br>{{MMI|X}}<ref name="Simulation of strong ground motion for 1905 Kangra earthquake and a possible megathrust earthquake (Mw 8.5) in western Himalaya (India) using Empirical Green's Function technique">{{cite journal |author1=Sharma, B. |author2=Chopra, S. |author3=Kumar, V. |title=Simulation of strong ground motion for 1905 Kangra earthquake and a possible megathrust earthquake (Mw 8.5) in western Himalaya (India) using Empirical Green's Function technique |journal=Natural Hazards |date=2016 |volume=80 |issue=1 |pages=487–503 |doi=10.1007/s11069-015-1979-0 |bibcode=2016NatHa..80..487S |s2cid=129961165 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-015-1979-0 |access-date=18 March 2021|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Intensity attenuation">{{cite journal |last1=Ghosh GK, Mahajan AK |title=Intensity attenuation relation at Chamba–Garhwal area in north-west Himalaya with epicentral distance and magnitude |journal=Journal of Earth System Science |date=2013 |volume=122 |issue=1 |pages=107–122 |doi=10.1007/s12040-012-0261-z |bibcode=2013JESS..122..107G |s2cid=140177028 |url=https://www.ias.ac.in/public/Volumes/jess/122/01/0107-0122.pdf |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref>
| casualties = >20,000<ref name=Utsu/><ref name="Ambraseys"/><ref name=Nature/>
| damage =
| image = Photograph of the ruins of Bajreshwari Mata Temple, Kangra taken in the aftermath of the 1905 Kangra earthquake.jpg
| caption = Photograph of the ruins of [[Bajreshwari Mata Temple, Kangra]] taken in the aftermath of the 1905 Kangra earthquake
}}

The '''1905 Kangra earthquake''' occurred in the [[Kangra Valley]] and the [[Kangra district]] of the [[Himachal Pradesh]], in [[India]] on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the [[surface-wave magnitude]] scale and killed more than 20,000 people. Apart from this, most buildings in the towns of [[Kangra, Himachal Pradesh|Kangra]], [[Mcleodganj]] and [[Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh|Dharamshala]] were destroyed. The earthquake also had a widespread impact in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the densely populated Kashmir valley. A total of 7,000 to 8,000 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir with 4,000 to 5,000 deaths occurring in the Kashmir valley. Widespread structural damage was reported across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand.<ref>[http://123himachal.com/dharamsala/links/1905.htm Dharamsala Earthquake 1905 – Images]</ref><ref>[http://www.hpkangra.nic.in/history.htm History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221063405/https://www.hpkangra.nic.in/history.htm |date=2007-12-21 }} ''[[Kangra district]]'' Official website.</ref><ref>[https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/gazetteer/pager.html?objectid=DS405.1.I34_V01_128.gif Earthquakes] ''[[The Imperial Gazetteer of India]]'', v. 1, ''p. 98.''</ref>

==Background==
The calculated [[epicenter]] of the earthquake lies within the zone of [[thrust fault|thrusts]] along the front of the Himalayas formed by the continuing collision of the [[Indian plate]] into the [[Eurasian plate]].<ref>{{citation|title=Geodetic Study of the Kangra Earthquake 1905|url=http://www.unavco.org/pubs_reports/proposals/2007/facility2007/section3/UNV-GRID-SPREAD-EC_31.pdf|last1=Wallace|first1=K.|last2=Gaur|first2=V.|last3=Blume|first3=F.|last4=Hough|first4=S.|authorlink4=Susan Hough|last5=Bilham|first5=R.}}</ref> Underthrusting of the Indian subcontinent beneath Tibet along a 2,500 km long convergent boundary known as the [[Main Himalayan Thrust]] has resulted in the uplifting of the overriding Eurasian plate, thus creating the long mountain range parallel to the convergent zone.<ref name="India plate angular velocity and contemporary deformation rates from continuous GPS measurements from 1996 to 2015">{{cite journal |last1=Jade|first1= S.|last2= Shrungeshwara|first2= T.S.|last3= Kumar|first3= K. |title=India plate angular velocity and contemporary deformation rates from continuous GPS measurements from 1996 to 2015 |journal=Scientific Reports |date=2017 |volume=7 |issue=1 |page=11439 |doi=10.1038/s41598-017-11697-w |pmid=28900236 |pmc=5595902 |bibcode=2017NatSR...711439J }}</ref>

==Earthquake characteristics==
The magnitude 7.8–7.9 earthquake struck the western Himalaya in the state of Himachal Pradesh at an estimated depth of 6 km along a very shallow dipping thrust fault, likely on the [[Main Himalayan Thrust]] detachment. The rupture area is calculated at 280 km × 80 km.<ref name="Minimum norm inversion of observed ground elevation changes for slips on the causative fault during the 1905 Kangra earthquake">{{cite journal |last1=Gahalaut|first1= V.K.|last2= Gupta|first2= P.K.|last3= Chander|first3= R. |title=Minimum norm inversion of observed ground elevation changes for slips on the causative fault during the 1905 Kangra earthquake |journal=Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences – Earth and Planetary Sciences |date=1994 |volume=103 |issue=3 |pages=401–411 |doi=10.1007/BF02841529 |bibcode=1994InEPS.103..401G |s2cid=127752208 |url=https://www.ias.ac.in/article/fulltext/jess/103/03/0401-0411 |access-date=18 March 2021|doi-access=free |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The rupture did not reach the surface, therefore, is considered a [[blind thrust earthquake]].<ref name="Minimum norm inversion of observed ground elevation changes for slips on the causative fault during the 1905 Kangra earthquake" /> A more recent study in 2005 estimated the rupture zone at 110 km × 55 km while still not breaking the surface.<ref name="Bilham R, Wallace K">{{cite journal |last1=Bilham R, Wallace K |title=Future Mw 8 earthquake in Himalaya: Implication for the 26 December, 2004 M = 9 earthquake on eastern margin |journal=Geological Survey India |date=2005 |volume=85 |pages=1–14}}</ref>

==Damage==
[[File:Photograph of the Golden Temple, Amritsar, Punjab, circa early 20th century (PF0021985).png|thumb|Photograph of the Golden Temple in Amritsar after the earthquake. The top dome of the Ramgarhia Bunga's burj watchtower to the left was destroyed due to the earthquake.]]
The earthquake reached its peak [[Rossi–Forel scale|Rossi–Forel intensity]] of X in [[Kangra, Himachal Pradesh|Kangra]]. About 150 km away from this zone to the southeast, an area of increased intensity reaching VIII was recorded. This unusually high intensity away from the earthquake in the Indo-Gangetic Plain included the cities [[Dehradun]] and [[Saharanpur]]. It was felt VII in towns like [[Kasauli]], [[Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh|Bilaspur]], [[Chamba, Himachal Pradesh|Chamba]], and [[Lahore]].<ref name="Significant Earthquake Information INDIA: KANGRA">{{cite web |title=Significant Earthquake Information INDIA: KANGRA |url=https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/2709 |website=NGDC NCEI |publisher=NCEI |access-date=18 March 2021}}</ref> The [[Ramgarhia Bunga]] in Amritsar suffered damages, especially to the top domes of its two burj watchtowers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Teja |first=Charanjit Singh |date=7 June 2025 |title=In photos: Echoes of valour & faith resound at grand Sikh structure Ramgarhia Bunga |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/punjab/echoes-of-valour-faith-resound-at-ramgarhia-bunga/ |access-date=20 August 2025 |work=The Tribune |quote=Over time, the building suffered damage, especially during the 1905 earthquake and the 1984 Operation Blue Star.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=6 June 2014 |title=THEN TOP LOST IN 1905, MORE DAMAGE IN '84 |url=https://www.pressreader.com/india/hindustan-times-bathinda/20140606/281921656105755 |access-date=20 August 2025 |work=Hindustan Times (Bathinda) |quote=The old Nanakshahi bricks have been concealed with pink tiles on the outer walls of the two minarets of Ramgarhia Bunga. The top portion of the minarets was demolished after damage in earthquake in 1905.}}</ref>

As many as 100,000 buildings were reported to have been demolished by the earthquake. At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 53,000 domestic animals were also lost. There was also major damage to the network of hillside [[Aqueduct (water supply)|aqueduct]]s that fed water to the affected area. The total cost of recovering from the effects of the earthquake was calculated at 2.9 million (1905) rupees.<ref name ="Ambraseys">{{cite journal|title=A note on the Kangra Ms = 7.8 earthquake of 4 April 1905|url=http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jul102000/general%20articles3.pdf|first1=N.|last1=Ambraseys|authorlink=Nicholas Ambraseys|first2=R.|last2=Bilham|year=2000|journal=Current Science|publisher=Current Science Association|volume=79|number=1|pages=45–50|access-date=9 January 2014|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304051935/http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/jul102000/general%20articles3.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[1897 Assam earthquake]]
* [[List of earthquakes in 1905]]
* [[List of earthquakes in India]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Nature">{{cite journal |title=The Kangra Earthquake of April 4, 1905 |journal=Nature |date=1 March 1906 |volume=73 |issue=1896 |pages=418–419 |doi=10.1038/073418a0 |bibcode=1906Natur..73..418. |s2cid=26641327 |doi-access=free }}</ref>
<ref name=Martin>{{citation|title=A Catalog of Felt Intensity Data for 570 Earthquakes in India from 1636 to 2009|url=http://www.bssaonline.org/content/100/2/562.abstract|first1=S.|last1=Martin|first2=W.|last2=Szeliga|year=2010|journal=Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America|publisher=[[Seismological Society of America]]|series=Electronic Supplement (table S2)|volume=100|number=2|pages=562–569|doi=10.1785/0120080328|bibcode=2010BuSSA.100..562M|access-date=19 February 2017|archive-date=12 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161112172909/http://www.bssaonline.org/content/100/2/562.abstract|url-status=dead|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
<ref name=Utsu>{{citation|title=International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology|series=Part A, Volume 81A|chapter=A List of Deadly Earthquakes in the World: 1500–2000|first=T. R.|last=Utsu|year=2002|publisher=[[Academic Press]]|edition=First|isbn=978-0124406520|page=702}}</ref>
}}

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Middlemiss |first=Charles Stewart |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RmsRAAAAIAAJ |title=The Kangra Earthquake of 4th April, 1905 |date=1910 |publisher=Geological survey of India}}
*{{Cite journal|last1=Ambraseys|first1=N. N.|last2=Douglas|first2=J.|date=2004|title=Magnitude calibration of north Indian earthquakes|journal=Geophysical Journal International|volume=159|issue=1|pages=165–206|doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.2004.02323.x|issn=0956-540X|bibcode=2004GeoJI.159..165A|doi-access=free}}
*{{citation|title=Revisiting the 1897 Shillong and 1905 Kangra earthquakes in northern India: Site response, Moho reflections and a triggered earthquake|last1=Hough|first1=S. E.|authorlink1=Susan Hough|last2=Bilham|first2=R.|last3=Ambraseys|first3=N.|authorlink3=Nicholas Ambraseys|last4=Feldl|first4=N.|journal=Current Science|year=2005|volume=88|issue=10|pages=1632–1638|jstor=24110489}}
* Srivastava, H. N., Mithila Verma, and B. K. Bansal. "Seismological Constraints for the 1905 Kangra Earthquake and Associated Hazard in Northwest India." ''Current Science'' 99, no. 11 (2010): 1549–559. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24069452.

==External links==
*{{EQ-isc-link|16957848}}

{{Earthquakes in 1905}}
{{Earthquakes in India}}
{{Himalayan earthquakes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1905 Kangra Earthquake}}
[[Category:Earthquakes in India|1905 Kangra]]
[[Category:1905 in India|Kangra Earthquake, 1905]]
[[Category:Kangra district]]
[[Category:Disasters in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:1905 earthquakes]]
[[Category:April 1905 in Asia]]
[[Category:Buried rupture earthquakes]]
[[Category:1905 disasters in India]]

1905 Kangra earthquake - Revision history

Svetlbwz at 02:23, 17 March 2026