The1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in theKangra Valley and theKangra district of theHimachal Pradesh, inIndia on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on thesurface-wave magnitude scale and killed more than 20,000 people. Apart from this, most buildings in the towns ofKangra,Mcleodganj andDharamshala were destroyed. The earthquake also had a widespread impact in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the densely populated Kashmir valley. A total of 7,000 to 8,000 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir with 4,000 to 5,000 deaths occurring in the Kashmir valley. Widespread structural damage was reported across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand.[7][8][9]
The calculatedepicenter of the earthquake lies within the zone ofthrusts along the front of the Himalayas formed by the continuing collision of theIndian plate into theEurasian plate.[10] Underthrusting of the Indian subcontinent beneath Tibet along a 2,500 km long convergent boundary known as theMain Himalayan Thrust has resulted in the uplifting of the overriding Eurasian plate, thus creating the long mountain range parallel to the convergent zone.[11]
The magnitude 7.8–7.9 earthquake struck the western Himalaya in the state of Himachal Pradesh at an estimated depth of 6 km along a very shallow dipping thrust fault, likely on theMain Himalayan Thrust detachment. The rupture area is calculated at 280 km × 80 km.[12] The rupture did not reach the surface, therefore, is considered ablind thrust earthquake.[12] A more recent study in 2005 estimated the rupture zone at 110 km × 55 km while still not breaking the surface.[13]
Photograph of the Golden Temple in Amritsar after the earthquake. The top dome of the Ramgarhia Bunga's burj watchtower to the left was destroyed due to the earthquake.
The earthquake reached its peakRossi–Forel intensity of X inKangra. About 150 km away from this zone to the southeast, an area of increased intensity reaching VIII was recorded. This unusually high intensity away from the earthquake in the Indo-Gangetic Plain included the citiesDehradun andSaharanpur. It was felt VII in towns likeKasauli,Bilaspur,Chamba, andLahore.[14] TheRamgarhia Bunga in Amritsar suffered damages, especially to the top domes of its two burj watchtowers.[15][16]
As many as 100,000 buildings were reported to have been demolished by the earthquake. At least 20,000 people are estimated to have been killed and 53,000 domestic animals were also lost. There was also major damage to the network of hillsideaqueducts that fed water to the affected area. The total cost of recovering from the effects of the earthquake was calculated at 2.9 million (1905) rupees.[1]
^abUtsu, T. R. (2002), "A List of Deadly Earthquakes in the World: 1500–2000",International Handbook of Earthquake & Engineering Seismology, Part A, Volume 81A (First ed.),Academic Press, p. 702,ISBN978-0124406520
^Bilham R, Wallace K (2005). "Future Mw 8 earthquake in Himalaya: Implication for the 26 December, 2004 M = 9 earthquake on eastern margin".Geological Survey India.85:1–14.
^"THEN TOP LOST IN 1905, MORE DAMAGE IN '84".Hindustan Times (Bathinda). 6 June 2014. Retrieved20 August 2025.The old Nanakshahi bricks have been concealed with pink tiles on the outer walls of the two minarets of Ramgarhia Bunga. The top portion of the minarets was demolished after damage in earthquake in 1905.
Hough, S. E.; Bilham, R.;Ambraseys, N.; Feldl, N. (2005), "Revisiting the 1897 Shillong and 1905 Kangra earthquakes in northern India: Site response, Moho reflections and a triggered earthquake",Current Science,88 (10):1632–1638,JSTOR24110489
Srivastava, H. N., Mithila Verma, and B. K. Bansal. "Seismological Constraints for the 1905 Kangra Earthquake and Associated Hazard in Northwest India."Current Science 99, no. 11 (2010): 1549–559.http://www.jstor.org/stable/24069452.
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