Strongest Quake shakes Persian Gulf and beyond

A very strong earthquake shakes south eastern part of Iran that is very close to Pakistan border.The shock was so strong that whole region from Iranian cities to Arabian cities felt it. According to USGS the recent earthquake has following parameters:

Magnitude	7.8
Date-Time	Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 10:44:20 UTC Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at 03:44:20 PM at epicenter
Location	28.107°N, 62.053°E
Depth	82 km (51.0 miles)
Region	IRAN-PAKISTAN BORDER REGION
Distances	194 km (121 miles) SE (144°) from Zahedan, Iran 256 km (159 miles) NNW (336°) from Turbat, Pakistan 256 km (159 miles) WSW (250°) from Dalbandin, Pakistan 605 km (376 miles) NE (34°) from MUSCAT, Oman

The earth quake was so strong that estimated its power is 40 times more than the quake that jolted city of Bam  360 Km NW of the current quake. Bam quake happened in December 26, 2003 with 6.6 magnitude and killed thirty thousands of people. But the recent quake is very deep( 82 to 95 Km according Iranian Geophysics Centre) and  population is sparse and low that's why  casualty has remained very low.Indeed, according to official news most casualties happened in more populated area in Pakistan with 34 people while Iran reported only one person killed and around 27 people injured.
Same as the quake that shook Bushehr in April 9 2013,the Arabian platform is responsible for the shock and after shocks. 

Founder of modern Geography in Iran died

Mohammad Hassan Ganji

Mohammad Hassan Ganji Ph.D (11 June 1912 – 19 July 2012)^[2] was an Iranian meteorologist and academic. He was born in Birjand.^[3][4] He is credited as being the father of modern geography in Iran.^[5]

Ganji established the Iran Meteorological Organization in 1955 and served as the head of Iran's Department General of Meteorology from 1956 to 1968.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) awarded Dr. Ganji as the outstanding scientist of the world in 2001 to recognize his life-long efforts and achievements in his field of expertise. 

Ganji has published several books, including the Atlas of Iranian Climates as wells as over 130 articles in Persian and English. 

                                                             

WHERE'S THE HOTTEST PLACE ON EARTH?

When it comes to temperature specially surface temperature no place on earth can bit Lut desert in Iran.


Watch the video about lut

Lut desert a magnificent landscape 

 Lut  desert ( lut Kavir) is a geologically a depression. On the other word it is a low land. lowest elevation using Google Earth indicates 109 meter above sea level. But I heard from my geography teachers at Tehran university that in some  ravines they plotted a trench which only has 75 meter above sea level. So by combination of very low land plus precipitation below 100 mm , its distant from sea and very bare soil (mostly sand and clay with no vegetation at all for kilometers) , we come to conclusion that we just discovered the hottest place on earth. 

 The image was created from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, which flies overhead at about 1:30 p.m. local time, close to the hottest part of the day. MODIS records land surface temperatures, which reflect how hot the ground is to the touch.

The single highest land skin temperature recorded in any year of the study was found in the Lut Desert in 2005 and measured a stunning 159.3 F (70.7 C). Lut had the highest surface temperature in 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2009 as well.