Where did the earthquake in Morocco occur? Map reveals epicenter was in the High Atlas Mountains – as scientists say the magnitude 6.8 earthquake is the biggest to hit the country in 120 years

This map shows the epicenter of Morocco’s deadly earthquake, which killed more than 2,500 people and injured thousands more last Friday.

Geologists said the magnitude 6.8 quake was the largest to hit the heart of the country in more than 120 years and the deadliest in six decades.

Rescuers are still searching for survivors, with some forced to dig with their bare hands in remote areas as heavy lifting machines cannot reach them.

The epicenter of the earthquake, which struck at 23:11 local time (23:11 BST) on Friday, was in the High Atlas Mountains, 71 kilometers southwest of Marrakech, at a depth of 18.5 kilometers. ), according to the US Geological Survey.

The main tectonic cause is the collision between the Eurasian and African plates, the boundary of which is about 563 km north of the epicenter.

Devastating: Geologists said the magnitude 6.8 quake was the largest earthquake to hit the heart of the country in more than 120 years and the deadliest in six decades

This originally led to the formation of the Atlas Mountains, which run through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.

Currently, collisions between the Eurasian and African plates are the cause of increased seismicity in the area, with GPS measurements showing that the Atlas Mountains are moving. 1 millimeter closer together every year.

This compression causes friction between plates and in turn likely led to the last earthquake, according to José A. Peláez, professor of geophysics at the Universidad de Jaén.

The High Atlas Mountains also have a unique geological feature: the Earth’s outer layer – known as the lithosphere – is thinner than normal, while an unusual rise in the mantle is taking place.

What’s particularly unusual about this deadly earthquake, however, is that scientists say such powerful tremors don’t happen often in Morocco.

In fact, there have been no earthquakes greater than a magnitude 6.0 within 500 km of Friday’s epicenter since 1900.

Most of the seismic activity involving the Eurasian and African plates occurs further east Mediterranean region, mainly affecting Italy, Greece and Turkey.

There are generally two main earthquake hotspots in Morocco.

The first is located offshore, along the Azores-Gibraltar transformer fault and the Alboran Sea, while the second is between the Rif Mountains in the northern part of the country and the Tell Atlas Mountains in Algeria.

Desperate: Rescuers are still searching for survivors, with some in remote areas forced to dig with their bare hands as heavy lifting machines (pictured) cannot reach them

A view of a house damaged by the earthquake, in the village of Ijjoukak, near Marrakesh

Major earthquakes to hit Morocco in recent years include a magnitude 6.4 quake in 2016 that struck off the coast northeast of the city of Al Hoceïma and killed one person.

There was also a magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed 631 people in 2004, and another earthquake of the same intensity in 1960 that killed between 12,000 and 15,000 people when the earthquake occurred near the coast . city ​​of Agadir.

Five years earlier, an earthquake with a magnitude of about 5.8 occurred near the location of the last quake.

If we go back further in history, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude between 6.5 and 7.0 destroyed the cities of Fes and Meknes in 1755, killing at least 15,000 people.

The official death toll for Friday’s disaster so far stands at 2,681 confirmed dead and at least 2,501 injured, including more than 1,400 who are seriously injured.

The Earth moves beneath our feet: Tectonic plates move through the mantle, causing earthquakes as they scrape against each other

Tectonic plates consist of the Earth’s crust and the upper part of the mantle.

Below this is the asthenosphere: the warm, viscous conveyor belt of rock on which tectonic plates ride.

The Earth has fifteen tectonic plates (pictured) that together form the shape of the landscape we see around us today

Earthquakes typically occur at tectonic plate boundaries, where one plate subducts under another, pushes the other up, or where plate edges rub against each other.

Earthquakes rarely occur at the center of plates, but can occur when ancient faults or fissures far below the surface are reactivated.

These areas are relatively weak compared to the surrounding plate and can easily slip and cause an earthquake.