Remove ads
The 1717 Guatemala earthquake struck colonial Guatemala on September 29 with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.4,[1] and a Mercalli intensity of approximately IX (Violent).[1] The earthquake essentially destroyed much of the architecture of Antigua Guatemala, which was the colonial capital of Central America at the time. Over 3,000 buildings were ruined including many temples and churches. Such was the effect of the disaster that the authorities considered moving the headquarters to a settlement which was less prone to natural disasters.[1]
  Antigua Guatemala  | |
| Local date | September 29, 1717 |
|---|---|
| Magnitude | ~7.4 Mw |
| Epicenter | 14.57°N 90.73°W / 14.57; -90.73][[Category:Pages using gadget WikiMiniAtlas]]"},"html":"Coordinates: </templatestyles>\"}' data-mw='{\"name\":\"templatestyles\",\"attrs\":{\"src\":\"Module:Coordinates/styles.css\"},\"body\":{\"extsrc\":\"\"}}'/>14°34′N 90°44′W / 14.57°N 90.73°W"}"> |
| Areas affected | Guatemala |
| Max. intensity | MMI IX (Violent) |
Later earthquakes meant that after the 1773 earthquake the town had been moved three times. In 1776, after the Santa Marta earthquakes, the Spanish Crown finally ordered the capital to be moved to a safer location, in Spanish: Valle de la Ermita (Valley of the Shrine), where Guatemala City, the modern capital of Guatemala, now stands.
Remove ads
Wikiwand in your browser!
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
Remove ads