The seismicity of Ghana

Although West Africa is generally an area of very low seismicity, an exception is a concentration of activity in Southern Ghana, especially near to the capital, Accra, which was heavily damaged by earthquakes in 1862 and 1939. Modern instrumental seismicity is poorly understood due to the limitations of seismic monitoring in the country. In this study, all available data are brought together to provide an earthquake catalogue for Ghana, and a new interpretation of the data for the 1862 earthquake is made. It is tentatively suggested that much of the recorded seismicity around Accra is in fact a very protracted aftershock sequence of the 1862 event.