Talk:1947 Wisconsin earthquake

Untitled

What's a "secular" kilometer? Zian (talk) 06:08, 14 May 2009 (UTC)

Should We Include This Link?

Thank-You for changing the TIME this earthquake struck! Now I was about to delete this entire entry and thought the actual link to the UW Milwaukee "Event Page" thing might be useful on the front page since Wikipedia does sometimes give a link to a page dedicated to a subject, and just thought UW Milwaukee seemed reliable/knowledgable? Here is UW Milwaukee version of story: http://www4.uwm.edu/letsci/geosciences/seismic_center/mke_quakes/19470506.cfm Thank-You, again!!! Lesbrown99 (talk) 00:54, 25 March 2012 (UTC)

AM vs. PM

While the first source in the article describe the earthquake happening in the AM, local newspapers from the time period report it happening in the PM. See the May 6, 1947 issue of the Milwaukee Journal, "Shock Widely Felt Throughout County, Lasts Split Second", where it is described as happening at 3:27 PM. huntertur (talk) 16:11, 22 November 2023 (UTC)

Map accuracy

Can somebody give a second opinion on this map? It seems likely to have been AI generated, or the user is at least using an AI to describe their modelling method.

User:Markalexander47 prompted an AI chatbot to draw a map of the earthquake earlier in the week, asking for it in a circle or squiggly circle depending on if the tremors were shaped like that or not and to only include areas where it was felt, as if the chatbot would know these things. The map was removed from the article and deleted at Commons:Deletion requests/File:1947 Wisconsin Earthquake approx. tremor feel area.png.

Markalexander47 came back with this new one a couple of days ago and gave me a very AI-coded explanation of how they'd drawn it. It read as if a chatbot had been asked how it had made such a map: they write about how they cross-referenced multiple USGS reports, verified historical records, and ensured that the placement of tremor intensity zones corresponds directly to documented observations, but there are no such intensity zones depicted, and the file description they give at File:1947 Wisconsin earthquake approximate tremor area.jpg completely contradicts all of that, saying instead that they just used the two 7,770km² and 99 mile figures in the Wikipedia article to draw a circle. Belbury (talk) 21:18, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

Belbury, the description of the image shows how I calculated it. I also did cross reference many sources. Both Wikipedia and the USGS state it was these dimensions. I then used a calculator to calculate the other sides of the square, which I made a circle out of. I do not understand how you believe my explanations are contradictory. I cross referenced sources such as Wikipedia and the USGS, to create the calculations for my circle. I simply didn't believe I had to put paragraphs of information into the description of the image because I didn't think anyone would be rebutting it.

Thanks, Markalexander47 (talk) 21:49, 22 August 2025 (UTC)

On my Commons talk page you've written that the image was

[...] carefully constructed from precise measurements and data provided by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). This image reflects the areas where strong tremors were actually reported, rather than relying on AI-generated approximations or generalized depictions. In assembling it, I cross-referenced multiple USGS reports, verified historical records, and ensured that the placement of tremor intensity zones corresponds directly to documented observations. [...] Each contour, shading, and marker has been calculated to align with empirical measurements rather than estimates. The methodology involved detailed analysis of USGS seismic data, conversion of raw measurement units into map coordinates, and careful attention to historical context to ensure that the final visualization is both accurate and informative. [...]

On the file description you say that

I used the dimensions given (approx. 7,770 sq. km. area, and 99 km. horizontal lines.) From there, I calculated and applied the remaining distance for vertical lines to make 7,770 sq. km. (approx 30 mi.) I then made a circle according to the calculations of this square.

Is your map based on "multiple USGS reports" about where the earthquake was "actually reported" in 1947, or is it based on a couple of numbers from this Wikipedia article?

You seem to have misread the 99 miles as 99 km, and I'm not sure that the cited sources support the area being a circle or oval: they call it a "strip". Belbury (talk) 15:12, 24 August 2025 (UTC)

I did reference sources from the USGS, and I measured 99 mi, put typo-ed 99 km on the description page. I apologize for the confusion on length Markalexander47 (talk) 15:53, 24 August 2025 (UTC)