The historical seismicity of northeastern Sonora and northwestern Chihuahua, Mexico (28–32°N, 106–111°W)

A detailed compilation of the historical seismicity of northeastern Sonora and northwestern Chihuahua (28–32°N, 106–111°W) for the period 1887–1999 from catalogs, archives, and newspaper reports yielded 64 events (excluding aftershocks). The most significant ones are the 3 May 1887 Bavispe, Sonora (MW=7.4±0.3), 26 May 1907 Colonia Morelos, Sonora (Imax=VIII, MI=5.2±0.4), 17 May 1913 Huásabas, Sonora (Imax=VIII, MI=5.0±0.4), 18 December 1923 Granados–Huásabas, Sonora (Imax=IX, MI=5.7±0.4) and 28 October 1965 Nicolás Bravo, Chihuahua (mb=5.0) earthquakes. Most of the compiled seismicity is concentrated in the epicentral region of the 1887 Bavispe earthquake, whose surface rupture is >100 km long. Other seismicity clusters have been located in the Valle de Guaymas graben and in the regions of Fronteras–Nacozari, Granados–Huásabas, and Ciudad Juárez–El Paso. These are most likely tectonic earthquakes related to normal faults of the southern Basin and Range province and the Rio Grande rift.