M6.1 earthquake near Wensu, Xinjiang

What happened

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 92 km WNW of Aksu, China on 23 Mar 1971, 09:52 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Wensu, about 86 km away in Xinjiang, China.