Seismic Events in Ohio 1776–1998 A Catalog of Earthquakes and Other Seismic Events Felt in Ohio Prior to Establishment of the Ohio Seismic Network by Michael C. Hansen Open-File Report 2017-1 Columbus 2017 DISCLAIMER The information contained herein has not been reviewed for technical accuracy and conformity with current ODNR Division of Geological Survey standards for published or open-file materials. The ODNR Division of Geological Survey does not guarantee this information to be free from errors, omissions, or inaccuracies and disclaims any responsibility or liability for interpretations or decisions based thereon. Cover image: Northwestern Ohio portion of Map EG-2: Earthquake Epicenters in Ohio and Adjacent Areas (Hansen, 2014). Recommended citation: Hansen, M.C., 2017, Seismic events in Ohio 1776–1998—A catalog of earthquakes and other seismic events felt in Ohio prior to establishment of the Ohio Seismic Network: Columbus, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016-1, 64 p. i CONTENTS Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 Previous work .................................................................................................................................................................................................. 1 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 References cited .............................................................................................................................................................................................. 3 Annotated catalog of earthquakes in Ohio and adjacent areas ................................................................................................... 8 Earthquakes in Ohio of 2.0 magnitude or greater ........................................................................................................... 8 Border region earthquakes .................................................................................................................................................... 40 Events of nonseismic origin or doubtful earthquakes ............................................................................................... 53 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................................................... 53 Mining activities and natural explosions ................................................................................................................ 53 Nonseismic earth movements ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Atmospheric events .................................................................................................................. 55 TABLE 1 Comparison chart of seismic magnitude and intensity scales ................................................................................................. 3 ABBREVIATIONS USED IN THIS REPORT Units of Measure g acceleration of gravity (1 g=980 cm/sec2) cm centimeter(s) m meter(s) m2 square meter(s) km kilometer(s) km2 square kilometer(s) M magnitude mbLg magnitude scale based on the maximum amplitude of the Lg wave versus distance mi mile(s) MMI Modified Mercalli Intensity sq. mi. square mile(s) sec second(s) lbs pound(s) Other CERI Center for Earthquake Research and Information PDE Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (from USGS) EDT Eastern Daylight Time EST Eastern Standard Time lat latitude long longitude NCE National Center for Earthquake Engineering Research (NCEER, now MCEER, Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research) USGS U.S. Geological Survey UTC Universal Coordinated Time UTLO OhioSeis Station at Toledo VTSO Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory ii iii Seismic Events in Ohio 1776–1998 A Catalog of Earthquakes and Other Seismic Events Felt in Ohio Prior to Establishment of the Ohio Seismic Network by Michael C. Hansen INTRODUCTION This open-file report presents a collection of data and information on seismic events felt in Ohio from 1776 to 1998. Included are events known to be earthquakes inside or outside of Ohio, as well as events of human origin. The Annotated Catalog of Earthquakes in Ohio and Adjacent Areas is organized into three sections: • Earthquakes in Ohio of 2.0 Magnitude or Greater (129 events). • Border Region Earthquakes (76 events). • Events of Non-earthquake Origin or Doubtful Earthquakes (24 events). Each of the sections has additional introductory material regarding reporting methods, event characterization, and the selection process for inclusion in this catalog PREVIOUS WORK This catalog of Ohio earthquakes is based primarily on the chronological catalog of earthquakes east of New Madrid, Missouri, compiled by Seeber and Armbruster (1991), with additions and some deletions. The narratives for Ohio earthquakes have been compiled from a variety of sources, including previous catalogs, governmental agency records, newspaper accounts, and some unpublished accounts compiled by John G. Armbruster of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University. Basic data for many earthquakes have been compiled by a variety of government agencies. For the period of about 1872 through 1924, earthquakes were listed in the Monthly Weather Review, published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Beginning in 1926, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey began compiling and publishing yearly reports on earthquakes in the United States. In 1961, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published the Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), with weekly, monthly, and yearly summaries. During the 1970s, the U.S. Environmental Science Services Administration, succeeded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, published annual summaries of United States earthquakes. From the early 1980s to the present, the U.S. Geological Survey assumed these duties. Stover and Coffman (1993) provided a complete listing of these publications, including the various authors and administrative affiliations. Docekal (1970) did a very thorough review of earthquakes of the mid-continent region, including Ohio. Many of his sources included references cited herein but also, he used the unpublished notebooks, scrapbooks, and card files compiled by H. F. Reid and archived by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Ohio newspapers, county histories, and other documents are in the Archives Library of the Ohio History Connection in Columbus. Locally, the John Carroll University Seismological Observatory issued annual reports from 1947 until 1991. Primarily, these bulletins provided data on teleseismic earthquakes, but they do include information on local and regional events. In late 1986, the John Carroll observatory installed a multistation network in northeastern Ohio and, from 1987 to 1991 (the observatory closed in mid-1992) dual reports were issued: (1) the traditional listing of teleseismic earthquakes and (2) the John Carroll University Seismic Network Bulletin, which provided data on local seismic activity. Beginning in 1977, the Anna Seismic Network was operated in western Ohio and eastern Indiana by the University of Michigan. This network closed in mid-1992. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a 1 series of reports from this network. Ruff and others (1994) published the final report in this series, which contains a summary of the events recorded by the Anna Seismic Network during its existence. Bradley and Bennett (1965) provided the first comprehensive catalog of Ohio earthquakes, which included much original research on events, compiled mostly from newspaper accounts. Their concentration seems to have been more on original accounts of western Ohio earthquakes rather than elsewhere in the state. Von Hake (1976) published a brief summary of Ohio earthquakes. Weston Geophysical Corporation (1979) did a very detailed search of newspaper accounts and records in governmental agencies on earthquakes in northeastern Ohio as part of a contract with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for assessing environmental impact of the Perry Nuclear Power Plant. This research better defined the locations and intensities of many earthquakes and eliminated some nonseismic events listed in previous compilations as earthquakes. For some events, the data are abundant and probably comprehensive; indeed, extensive felt reports may be briefly summarized in this report. However, for many events, especially small-magnitude, preinstrumental earthquakes, only very basic information has been compiled. In most cases, new information would consist of newspaper accounts throughout the area in which an earthquake was felt. Gathering such information for each event is time intensive, necessitating long hours at archival institutions. Unfortunately, there has not been adequate time in the course of the current study for such comprehensive analysis for each earthquake. This shortcoming is readily apparent by the brief entries for many events. Seeber and Armbruster (1993) have demonstrated the value of comprehensive evaluations of newspaper reports for some earthquakes. These authors have been able