Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Damaging Earthquakes

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Damaging Earthquakes
Abstract:
This cover consists of location and size information for historical and recent earthquakes that caused Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI (6) or higher in the map area. There were 26 earthquakes that caused that level of damage. The most reknown are the four earthquakes in the 1811- 1812 sequence; two on Dec 16, 1811, and one each on Jan 23, 1812, and Feb 7, 1812. Their calculated Moment Magnitudes were 8.1, 7.2, 7.8, and 8.0, respectively. The most recent damaging earthquake was on June 10, 1987 near Olney, Illinois. It had a Moment Magnitude of 5.2.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Rhea, Susan, 1997, Seismotectonic maps in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky - Digital Spatial Database: Damaging Earthquakes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 97-0681, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.59999847
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -87.40000153
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.71300125
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 35.50061035
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date:
    Ending_Date: 1995
    Currentness_Reference:
    All earthquakes known to have caused damage in the map area are included in this dataset.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (33)
      • String (0)
      • GT-polygon composed of chains (0)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees. The horizontal datum used is Unknown.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.4.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.98.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    DAMEQK.PAT
    location and size parameters of damaging earthquakes in the lower Wabash Valley (Source: Stover and Coffman (see refs))
    LAT
    latitude north, location of earthquake (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0.00Point used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west".
    Range of values
    Minimum:35.500
    Maximum:38.710
    Units:degrees
    LONG
    longitude west, location of earthquake (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0.00Point used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west". event not locatedevent not located
    Range of values
    Minimum:-90.500
    Maximum:-87.400
    Units:degrees
    YEAR
    year of earthquake occurrence (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0.00 
    Range of values
    Minimum:1811
    Maximum:1987
    MONTH
    month of earthquake occurrence (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0Point used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west".
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:12
    DAY
    day of earthquake occurrence (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0 
    45Point used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west".
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:31
    HR
    hr of earthquake occurrence (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:23
    MIN
    min of earthquake occurrence (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:59
    MAG
    magnitude of earthquake (Source: Stover and Coffman)
    ValueDefinition
    0.0Point used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west".
    Range of values
    Minimum:4.1
    Maximum:7.4
    SYMBOL
    symbol used to portray earthquake on map (Source: Rhea)
    ValueDefinition
    0not plotted
    44symbol for earthquake location within map boundaries
    54symbol for earthquake location outside map boundary
    SMALLSYM
    symbol used to portray earthquake on map (Source: Rhea)
    ValueDefinition
    0not plotted
    45symbol for earthquake location within map boundaries
    55symbol for earthquake location outside map boundary
    BSYMBOL
    symbol used to portray earthquake on map B (Source: Rhea)
    ValueDefinition
    0not plotted
    46symbol for earthquake location within map boundaries
    56symbol for earthquake location outside map boundary

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Rhea, Susan
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    MS966, Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: email is the best way to make contact

Why was the data set created?

The data was generated to help in understanding the seismotectonic hazards in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley. This data complements similar data collected in the vicinity of New Madrid, MO (USGS Open-File Report 95-0574, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1995/0574/

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    (source 1 of 2)
    Stover, C.W., and Coffman, J.L., 1993, Seismicity of the United States, 1568-1989(Revised): U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper PP-1527, US Geological Survey, Denver.

    Other_Citation_Details: 418 p
    Type_of_Source_Media: text
    (source 2 of 2)
    Johnston, A.C., 1994, Summary Tables, SCR seismicity data base in Johnston, A.C., Coppersmith, K.J., Kanter, L.R., and Cornell, C.A., eds., The earthquakes of stable continental regions: 2, Electric Power Research Inst, Palo Alto CA.

    Other_Citation_Details: vol. 2, appendices A to E, p C1-C46
    Type_of_Source_Media: text
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 29-Jul-1997 (process 1 of 2)
    Tabular coordinate and location information were keyed into a text file and converted to an arcinfo coverage using generate and relate procedures.
    Date: 08-Jun-1998 (process 2 of 2)
    Creation of original metadata record Person who carried out this activity:
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    MS966, Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: email is the best way to make contact
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Rhea, Susan, and Wheeler, R.L., 1996, Map showing seismicity in the vicinity of the lower Wabash Valley, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I-Map 2583-A, U.S. Geological Survey, Denver, CO.

    Other_Citation_Details: pamphlet accompanies map

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Points with improper attribute values in LAT, LONG, date, and time fields remain. These points were used for plotting locations of earthquakes that were felt in the map area but were located outside the map area. Annotation adjacent to these points provides information similar to "location 35 km due west".
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    data is complete for those earthquakes causing damage in the map area
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Some points contain zeros in LAT, LONG, date, and time fields. One record contains 45 in DAY field.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints: none
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Susan Rhea
    US Geological Survey
    Geophysicist
    USGS Mail Stop 966
    Box 25046, Federal Center
    Denver, CO
    USA

    303-273-8639 (voice)
    303-273-8600 (FAX)
    rhea@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: Email is the best way to make contact.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? USGS Open-File Report 97-0681
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards and stratigraphic nomenclature. Any use of trade names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the USGS.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    ARC/INFO version 7.0.3 or later or ArcView 3.0 or later

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 10-Jun-2016
Metadata author:
Peter N Schweitzer
USGS Midwest Area
Collection manager, USGS Geoscience Data Clearinghouse, http://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/
Mail Stop 954
12201 Sunrise Valley Dr
Reston, VA
USA

703-648-6533 (voice)
703-648-6252 (FAX)
pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://geo-nsdi.er.usgs.gov/metadata/open-file/97-681/dameqk.faq.html>
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