On February 18 , 1911 , the 1911 Sarez earthquake , estimated at 7.4 on the Richter magnitude scale , caused a large landslide which completely blocked the flow of the Murghab and buried a local village . The landslide , estimated at two cubic kilometers of rock , formed a natural dam called the Usoi Dam . Over the following months the Murghab filled the space behind the Usoi to form Sarez Lake , which now fills about 60 kilometers in length of the Murghab river valley and contains 17 cubic kilometers of water . Geologists believe that the dam may be unstable and could collapse during a future strong earthquake , ether from structural failure of the earthen dam itself or liquefaction of the soil & rock debris making up the dam
1911 Sarez earthquake
1911 Sarez earthquake
Bartang River